The Explorographerhttps://theexplorographer.com
A wacky travel blog with photos.Sat, 12 Nov 2016 01:47:15 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7https://theexplorographer.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/cropped-apple-touch-icon-precomposed-32x32.pngThe Explorographerhttps://theexplorographer.com
3232Dover Stone Church ~ Dover Plains, NYhttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/10/dover-stone-church/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/10/dover-stone-church/#respondThu, 13 Oct 2016 18:03:03 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8990Located just about as far east as you can go in upstate New York without falling into Connecticut is the small hamlet of Dover Plains. Located in Dutchess county, Dover Plains is part of the town of Dover and sounds like something straight out of an Orson Welles radio broadcast. Just like many small upstate towns, there is nothing specialread more

]]>Located just about as far east as you can go in upstate New York without falling into Connecticut is the small hamlet of Dover Plains. Located in Dutchess county, Dover Plains is part of the town of Dover and sounds like something straight out of an Orson Welles radio broadcast. Just like many small upstate towns, there is nothing special to see at first glance. But sometimes, the deeper you look, the more you see. And if you look deep enough in Dover Plains, you will uncover the Dover Stone Church.

According to local legend, the Stone Church was refuge for Pequot Indian chief Sachem Sassacus and his warriors. Apparently they hid in the cave, fleeing from the English Army in the 1600’s. Later, in the 1800s and early 1900s the spot was a popular haunt for New York City residents to visit, claiming recuperative benefits from the fresh air and beauty drawn from upstate New York. Up until 2002 the privately owned land was up for sale. The Town of Dover and the Dutchess Land Conservancy in coordination with the friends of the Dover Stone Church, all collaborated to raise private and public funds to purchase the property. By 2004, the deal was done and this once secret spot is now preserved and open to the public to enjoy. In 2009 neighbors to the property donated 50 acres next to the historic right-of-way and in 2010 the donated another 63 acres. This would further expand the open space and serve to protect the ecology. Also in 2010 improvements to the historic right-of-way entrance and restoration of 2 footbridges were made. Clearly, the town and it’s people care very much for this wonderful location.

Even though this was just an overnight trip for us, it ended up being a fulfilling one. A beautiful autumn day was on tap as we woke early and drove from our hotel in Poughkeepsie to Dover. The plan was to document the hike in film and video rather than stills on this trip. I recently acquired a DJI Phantom 4 and a DJI OSMO with thoughts of incorporating more video into my workflow. It has worked out nicely and you should be seeing more videos here on my blog along with a bi-weekly vlog section coming soon. You can watch the 19 minute hike to Dover Stone Church video here:

What held up in the 1800’s, still holds up today. What an amazing day it was! The hike out is an easy one with a wonderful creek walk to the cave at the end. Imagine our surprise being greeted at the beginning of the creek trail by a Great Blue Heron. Each couple of hundred feet we hiked toward the cave, the Great Blue would continue to lead us forward. It was like he was leading us to the sacred spot at the end of the trail. Once we arrived, he stood watch for a few minutes, then flew off. For the rest of the day we didn’t see hide nor hair of him. This was a truly magical moment for us. But that wouldn’t be all. Along with the Great Blue, a couple of local boys, David and Ricky also showed up to the shoot.

These guys were awesome! Just out for a Saturday morning stroll (and a beer), these good ol’ boys were a wealth of stories and information. I always love the local perspective when I am visiting a place. It really helps in getting a feel for the area and to better experience it. In addition to all this, the light inside the cave itself was amazing. Due to the drought that Upstate has experienced, I was able to get access to the cave quite easily. Under normal water conditions the falls would certainly be prettier, but I would not be able to get inside so easily to get these shots.

If you have followed me lately, you know that I am having a lot of fun shooting in high-contrast black and white. This mode works particularly well with waterfalls and rock formations. The color was gorgeous in and around the cave. But, the black and white held a mystery all its own. I have one last photo from the shoot to share with you. Let your mind see whatever it wants to see. Let me know what you think it is in the comments below.

Whether or not you believe in local legend, I can guarantee you will have a magical and spiritual experience if you visit the Dover Stone Church. Just go there with a free spirit and let your mind wander in this magical place. Finally, if you do visit, please respect this area and help to preserve its pristine condition and cleanliness. Take only photos. Leave only footprints.

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/10/dover-stone-church/feed/0Chicago Illinois ~ Part V ~ City of Arthttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/07/chicago-illinois-city-art/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/07/chicago-illinois-city-art/#respondSat, 09 Jul 2016 00:50:12 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8890There is no story this day in words. I find myself at a loss for words for many reasons. So, I will give you this post in photos of art. Just as I saw it. Just art. Just enjoy. Thank you to the people of Chicago for being warm and welcoming. I cannot wait to come back! Please visit myread more

]]>There is no story this day in words. I find myself at a loss for words for many reasons. So, I will give you this post in photos of art. Just as I saw it. Just art. Just enjoy.

Thank you to the people of Chicago for being warm and welcoming. I cannot wait to come back! Please visit my complete gallery of images from Chicago and consider purchasing a print to support the site! Hope you enjoyed the series. Peace!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/07/chicago-illinois-city-art/feed/0Chicago Illinois ~ Part IV ~ Stone vs. Glasshttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/07/chicago-illinois-stone-vs-glass/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/07/chicago-illinois-stone-vs-glass/#respondThu, 07 Jul 2016 01:16:30 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8893For all intents and purposes, this post could be called Architecture Heaven part III-B. Honestly, if I had enough time there would not be enough letters in the alphabet to append. This by far is not my first visit to a large city either. I have been to NYC more times than I can count. Iread more

]]>For all intents and purposes, this post could be called Architecture Heaven part III-B. Honestly, if I had enough time there would not be enough letters in the alphabet to append. This by far is not my first visit to a large city either. I have been to NYC more times than I can count. I say this because you may think all I did was look up at the big buildings and photograph like a newborn. And while I was simply building crazy while in Chicago, it was with great purpose. If you have followed my work for a while you know I am about historical preservation of old structures and re-purposing of them. Nowhere have I been in a big city where this is more clear than in Chicago. One of the most prominent of these older structures is iconic Wrigley building.

From its massive clock tower to its ornate filigree the Wrigley personifies Chicago’s love for the old architecture. And while many of the buildings outsides and fascia have been restored, maintained, or otherwise, the internals of these buildings have been for the most part modernized were possible to make them usable for business. For instance, in 2013 The Zeller Development Corporation led a $70 million renovation of the building which included two new lobbies, new elevator cabs, restrooms, windows, HVAC, electrical, fire control and more. Much of the restoration actually removed many of the buildings additions built over the past 90 years and brought it back to its original splendor. And while the Wrigley stands out as a shining example, it’s the smaller less well-known buildings that drive home this philosophy of preservation over raze and rebuild. Here is a great example of some of the smaller buildings “standing guard” at the forefront of the Chicago skyline.

They are by no means the biggest/tallest buildings but many will tell you they are the most beautiful. Many Chicago skyline guides such as this one, overlook these buildings. To me, they are a standing tribute to those that built Chicago’s metro area. This view of the Santa Fe / Motorola building gives testament to the simple beauty of stone-faced architecture.

Some Chicago-ites will harp on the Santa Fe sign being replaced by Motorola, and the lack of care for the old. For what, an old sign? From a defunct railroad company? Motorola had to pay to have that sign up there and if that helps support keeping the building itself alive, what is the problem? The building stands, and is as far as I know is being used so please, spare me. Most everything around where I am from that is old and beautiful has been razed. Whether by the bulldozer or the convenient arsonist, it’s gone and replaced by an ugly cinderblock box.

Now that I have placed my argument for the stone-faced giants, let’s take a look at the other side, the glass. And new buildings are going up all the time. This is a good example, when doing research for this article, this building is so new it doesn’t appear on google maps yet.

This building is to the east of the Lake Street bridge with another brand new building going up on the west side. There are some obvious buildings in this category such as the Sears tower and Trump tower which reach for the tallest category. For me, the unique buildings caught my eye. An example is the Roosevelt University Wabash Tower.

32 stories of zig-zagging blue and green glass. No matter where you go southeast of the skyline, this building does not command your attention. Speaking of unique, there is a middle ground here as well. While doing map research for this trip I came across a building called, “Aqua” that I just had to get a shot of.

As you can see I had a little fun with the sky here to bring home the feeling I got when looking at this building from the street. Designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, this has to be my favorite building in Chicago. Hate it or love it, you have to admit it is very unique. Absolute proof that stone AND glass CAN get along in this beautiful architectural symphony of a city.

I am sure many will read this and disagree with my views here and that’s okay. I really liked Chicago and hope to get back there soon and shoot more of its amazing architecture! Have suggestions for buildings in Chicago for me to shoot? Interiors? Exteriors? Share them in the comments! Stay tuned for the final entry in this five-part series, coming in a couple of days!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/07/chicago-illinois-stone-vs-glass/feed/0Chicago Illinois ~ Part III ~ Architecture Heavenhttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/06/chicago-illinois-architecture-heaven/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/06/chicago-illinois-architecture-heaven/#respondThu, 30 Jun 2016 16:19:10 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8888Chicago is a city of art and architecture. I don’t think thus far that I have visited a city where it is so well-integrated either. The old and the new buildings, which I will talk about in another post, and the art itself, also in an upcoming post. It all just blends so well together.read more

]]>Chicago is a city of art and architecture. I don’t think thus far that I have visited a city where it is so well-integrated either. The old and the new buildings, which I will talk about in another post, and the art itself, also in an upcoming post. It all just blends so well together. It is clear the city planners know what they are doing when it comes to this “flow”. In this post I will be covering the architecture. For me, this was a study, a practice, and an adventure into the unknown. I am not good at architecture nor am I good at black and white. Though lately, I have fallen in love with both. So the photos you will see in this post, hopefully bring that love to you and demonstrate how well Chicago does this, rather than how well (or unwell) I do it. Leaving Buckingham fountain (from my last post) we head off to the streets of Chicago with no real path. All along the way Scott provides us with a wealth of knowledge, both pop culture and historical about each landmark we pass. Chicago is full of newer structures. Cold, brutal and strong. Here is an example of a block near the Lakefront trail.

Any of these photos can be purchased or licensed by clicking though on the photo. From left to right in the photo is the foreshadowing Aon Center (back left), then The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Tower, 340 on the Park, Tellin’ Tales Theater, Aqua (in the back peeking out), Outer Drive East, North Harbor Tower, and Harbor Point Condo (far right) Here is a nice transitional look from modern (right) to old (left) on the skyline.

Starting with the Crain Communications building aka the Smurfit-Stone Building on the right. Backed by the ugly Drumph tower (back right), The Heritage, The Pittsfield towering in the back, and finally the Willoughby Tower (left).

Now before you leave me any comments about buildings I left out let me just say, I was there 1 day and covered 16 miles of walking. I could have shot a week in Chicago and not gotten all the shots I wanted. And I am sure I will be back as I had a great time while there!

A message comes across from Deidre and as we stop for a nice cold one in the park she finds us. She suggests we head over to the Art Institute of Chicago. Since we are hanging at the Park Grill we decide to cut through Millennium Park to get there. Our first site on the walk is the spectacular Jay Pritzker Pavilion designed by famous architect Frank Gehry. They were setting up for a concert but I did manage to get this shot.

Gehry’s work is all through Millennium park and I will hit on that in an upcoming part of this series. Instead of using the street level entrance, Deidre takes us up Nichols Bridgeway which takes us 75ft up over the park and East Monroe Street to the upper floor of the Art Institute of Chicago. This minor change in our route results in one of my favorite shots of the day.

From the bridge, I was able to get this very cool angle of the Gehry’s design with the Aon building lined up perfectly, making it look as though the bottom of the Aon is bursting open, revealing the concert stage and seating. Scott, a one time Chicago resident, who I showed the photo to later said he had never seen it from that angle before. All of us were curious whether or not this was intentional. With the integration of art and architecture in Chicago, it would not surprise me. Intentional or not, it caught my eye and I am just happy to come away with something a little different. Thank you to Deidre Hayes for this awesome detour and for the wonderful tour of the Art Institute that she gave Danielle while us boys wandered the city. You rock!

After cramming in San Francisco, New York, and now Chicago in the past 10 months, I have come to the conclusion that this is one case where, the middle child wins. The perfect mix of old architecture, new architecture, and perfectly integrated art all come together to make Chicago an architectural heaven. There is so much here in fact that even with 3 parts of this series dedicated to it, I was barely able to touch on its vastness. In part IV I will be taking a look at the old and the new architecture of Chicago with more black and white images as well as color. Please share this story on your social networks and blogs as it helps keep my travels going as well as the site itself alive.

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/06/chicago-illinois-architecture-heaven/feed/0Chicago Illinois ~ Part II ~ More Than a Green Riverhttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/06/chicago-illinois-green-river/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/06/chicago-illinois-green-river/#respondMon, 27 Jun 2016 17:38:00 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8875Welcome to part 2 of this 5 part series on Chicago Illinois. When we left off we had just finished shooting “The Bean” and were headed up to Union Station to meet up with my fellow Arcanum Master, Scott Norris. Scott was taking the train in from Milwaukee and we hand about a 20 minute walkread more

]]>Welcome to part 2 of this 5 part series on Chicago Illinois. When we left off we had just finished shooting “The Bean” and were headed up to Union Station to meet up with my fellow Arcanum Master, Scott Norris. Scott was taking the train in from Milwaukee and we hand about a 20 minute walk from the bean to Union Station to get him. No photos to show as this would be our power walk part of the morning. Once we found Scott, we were all ready for a little wandering. Scott suggested we head for the river walk and then up to a little place in the North called “Yolk” for some breakfast. Right now the Chicago river walk is under a big expansion, which is going to make this city even MORE lovable. We finally find an open walk way to the river near the Lake Street bridge. We are heading east on the river and so was the “Skedaddle” tour boat. Along with the train crossing the bridge, I thought this made for a nice “Morning in Chicago” shot.

This was quickly shaping up to be a beautiful day although we were a bit worried as it was 75F @ 8:30am! One of the things you notices as you walk along the river is how green the water is. Abnormally green it seems. I cannot imagine how green it is for St. Patrick’s Day. One has to wonder of how the annual coloring of the river weighs on the local fish and wildlife. I know the dye is non-toxic, but it does change the UV and light properties of the water itself? I mean, here it is, almost 3 months later, and this river is GREEN!

To me, one of the most unique structures in the city for a couple of reasons. The first reason it’s retro style! With it’s 65 floors of rounded scalloped facade with the bottom 19 floors of this Chicago icon being a spiral parking garage! And of course the second reason is that it was constructed in my birth year of 1964! Proving that many cool things came that year. The unique buildings are a mixed use development creating it’s own city within the city. One of my favorites of the day. Next stop would be breakfast at a cool place called “Yolk” at Streeterville. I apologize for no foodie shots here. Were were famished and winded and the cell phones never made it out of the pocket. FOOD was all we could think. I had an amazing omelette that was more like a crust-less quiche than an omelette. Totally amazing food here so if you are in any of their locations, be sure to make Yolk your stop for breakfast! (4 locations in downtown Chicago and more in Dallas, TX and Indianapolis, IN) With breakfast out of the way, it was off to Buckingham Fountain to wait for any of the folks that wanted to join us for the day. To get there, we would walk along the western shore of Lake Michigan. This gave a wonderful view of the Marina there.

As well as a wonderful marina view, this walk also offers some incredible views of select parts of the Chicago skyline. It’s seems that I have an affinity for the more organic buildings of Chicago. More about that though, in part 3 of this series. Here is a shot of the Lake Point Tower condo building. (I am told Oprah has a floor here)

If you are a fan of architecture and black and white photography, check out the next part in this series where I will be featuring just that. Finally, we make it to Buckingham Fountain, another staple if you are visiting Chicago. I am sad we did not get to see this at night when it is spectacularly lit and synced with music. I did manage to grab a few long exposure photos while waiting for others to show up for the walk.

The fountain was mobbed with people even though it does not look like it in my shots. I used a Sony App on my camera called smooth water to do a long exposure median shot composed of many shots in succession which works well to remove people and moving objects in my shot. It does leave you with only a .jpg but the quality is superb and little adjustment is needed to the final image right out of the camera. It doesn’t work in all situations, but it did for this one. After our 30 minute wait for others in the now 95F heat we decide to start the walk. Dani, Greg, Scott, and I will take you on a tour of Chicago architecture both old and new and meet up with Deidre in my next installment! Thanks for checking out my blog, please share this article with your networks as that is what keeps this site alive!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/06/chicago-illinois-green-river/feed/0Chicago Illinois ~ Part I ~ The Obligatory Beanhttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/06/chicago-illinois-part/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/06/chicago-illinois-part/#commentsFri, 24 Jun 2016 15:21:36 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8858As part of my inadvertent obligation to visit all three coasts within a years time, Chicago finally made my list. I had been to NYC, Philly, DC, and SF so it was well overdue. I had a friend who had been keeping track of my travels and was also on the list to visit soread more

]]>As part of my inadvertent obligation to visit all three coasts within a years time, Chicago finally made my list. I had been to NYC, Philly, DC, and SF so it was well overdue. I had a friend who had been keeping track of my travels and was also on the list to visit so this made the perfect excuse to “get it done”. I say that like it was a chore and it most certainly was not. Maybe when the thought first entered my mind it was. I had never been to Chicago and all I really knew of it was deep dish pizza and the Blues Brothers. Even though I was a musician, and the Blues Brothers was an entertaining flick, it was in it’s heyday when I was very much a studying musician. I was not watching a lot of TV and/or movies in those days. So while I had seen the movie, it never really stuck with me like it has with others. Still, I wanted to see and hangout with my friend Scott Norris (incredible artist, check him out here) and do some shooting in the process. Being a part of the teaching institute The Arcanum, both Scott and I decided to make it a party and invite other members to join us. Unfortunately, most everyone that was to attend, bailed out, and it ended up being only 5 of us which wound up being just perfect. Joining us for the day was my better half Dani (OmniaSubSole.com), the awesomely talented Greg Croasdill (www.croasdill.com), and Chicago native/Ireland transplant Deidre Hayes (deirdrehayesphotography.com) A small but very familiar group of super talented people, so all was good!

We decided to avoid traffic and parking and stay in the Village of Rosemont and I am so glad we did. Rosemont is about 35 minutes west of downtown (by train) and is a gorgeous little village. We stayed at the Hampton Inn there which was new and wonderfully appointed. We used our stored up Hilton Honors points and got two nights there for $114 total! Super spacious suite that was clean and the staff was wonderful. We could not have asked for a better stay. As a Hilton Honors member, it was a little disappointing to have to pay $30 to park in the hotels parking lot for the two days, but it was still cheaper than downtown. Generally if you are staying at the hotel (and a gold Hilton Honors member) the parking is free.

The plan was rise at 5am, hop on the Blue line train which was just a few blocks away from the hotel, ride that downtown to the Jackson stop and get to Cloud Gate (the bean) for sunrise. Greg was on board to meet us there and was already shooting by the time we walked up from our stop (we were about 20 mins behind schedule). The whole idea was to get the sunrise, avoid the tripod police, and mobs of tourists. While I LOVE people, I am very choosy about where I have them in my photos. Everything went perfectly for us and we basically had free reign of the bean. Even so, I decided to go sans tripod for this walk and brought only a tiny Manfrotto tripod to shoot with. All of these shots though, were hand-held. I can safely say, “this is an obligatory place to shoot when in Chicago.” As much so as the Golden gate in San Francisco, and Lady Liberty in New York City. No matter how many photos you see of Cloud Gate, all of them, including mine, pale in comparison to seeing it in person. With that said, my first shot, step right up and plop it right in the middle! (Obligation filled)

“Cloud Gate” or “The bean” as it is known is an amazing public piece by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor. The piece was called “Cloud Gate” by Anish because 80% of its surface reflects the Chicago sky it sits beneath. And though people have a adopted the name “the bean”, the physical shape of the sculpture is not about Chicago’s love for the morning cup o’joe. It’s meaning goes far deeper than that and you can read about that here. (Just remember to come back here and finish after you do. Go ahead, I’ll wait.)

What first came to my mind when I saw the piece was of course its shape and the reflection. The bending of the sky (or lack of it this day) and the city skyline. I did a few symmetry based shots to accentuate the curve of Cloud Gate and its distinctive reflection. In using symmetry, I attempted to divide the background skyline of straight and tall buildings with the organic shape of the piece. I feel this effectively breaks my composition into two pieces, subject and background. I had a little fun with the sky here, and found out later from Deirdre that finding the arrow on the ground was a “thing”. Something she, as a native there had not seen in photos of the piece before. Cool! I did a thing!

Once I felt I had successfully put together my wide shots to show scope I moved in to study this beast and try something a little different. I am sure all of these shots have been done before, but they were new to me. Here I am again, being as symmetrical as possible under the bean. The sole purpose of this shot was to be my new facebook cover page. It ended up being much more than that for me.

All told, I spent a good 8 hours on this image doing retouching. Removing hand prints, concrete stains, anything that would be a distraction between the photographers and the piece. I will have a product review coming on the graphics tablet I used for this and how it made this part of the process much easier than using a mouse. Other than clean up and slight color adjustments the above shot is just as it was taken. By the way, that is Greg just behind me, we always coordinate what we wear at these photowalks. The girl in the photo was another photographer and seemed nice and polite. I was tempted to invite her to join us but she seemed to have her own thing going and that was cool! While on that subject, I just want to say a bit about the people of Chicago. Everyone we met there was extremely friendly and nice. Beautiful people, beautiful city, I just may be in love!

In the plan next was to meet up with Scott at 8:20am when his train arrived at Union Station and then Deidre sometime around noon or as soon as she was available at or near Buckingham Fountain. Since we had plenty of time before having to take the 20 minute walk across town to meet Scott, I grabbed a few more shots before we headed that way. This next shot is my personal favorite. I attempted to show the new and old Chicago here under some nice golden morning light. I am pretty happy with the results.

So if you want a shot of the bean without people, go early, or go late, but don’t go anywhere in between. Either way you choose, it is the obligatory Chicago photograph and you must not only see it, but make it as well. Thanks for checking out Part I of this multi part series on my shoot in Chicago! Next up we will be visiting a bit of t he Chicago River Walk, Union Station, some awesome TDF omelettes at Yolk, and beyond! If you enjoyed this look at Chicago, please use the buttons at the top and bottom and share on your favorite social network! Traffic from your shares are how we keep this site alive! And finally, if you want to check out all the shots of “the bean” go to THIS LINK. ~AD explore. photograph. write. repeat.

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/06/chicago-illinois-part/feed/1Kinzua Bridge ~ A Look Backhttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/05/kinzua-viaduct-look-back/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/05/kinzua-viaduct-look-back/#commentsWed, 25 May 2016 20:17:53 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8824After a friends recent trip to Kinzua Bridge I decided to dig back in my archives and post a story about my first travel photo trip outside of my own state. This was not only my first trip outside my state, but I was still a camera newb (truth be known I still am). I hadread more

]]>After a friends recent trip to Kinzua Bridge I decided to dig back in my archives and post a story about my first travel photo trip outside of my own state. This was not only my first trip outside my state, but I was still a camera newb (truth be known I still am). I had no thoughts of composition, HDR, color, tone, aperture, blah, blah, blah. I was just shooting what I wanted to, the way I wanted to. More on that later but first, let’s see what drew me to want to photograph this place.

History:

The twice built, twice demolished bridge was first constructed in August of 1882. The first construction was completed by a crew of just 40 men in 94 working days. This was accomplished through the use of a gin pole to build the first tower rather than the tradition scaffolding.

The bridge was billed as the “Eighth Wonder of The World” as 6 of the bridge’s towers where taller than the Brooklyn Bridge. Up until the construction of the Garabit Viaduct in France during 1884 at a height of 401 feet, the Kinzua Bridge held the height record. Until it’s record fell it was not only the tallest, but the longest viaduct in the world. Excursion trains came from Buffalo, NYC, and Pittsburgh to cross the span. Trains were held to just 5 miles per hour as wind and the trains themselves would shake the bridge. The bridge was built to support loads of 265 short tons and was often mistaken for being built out of wooden poles. In reality, the bridge was built by the Phoenix Iron Works, which specialized in producing patented, hollow iron tubes called “Phoenix columns”. Another attractant of the bridge was the tale of a bank robber who supposedly hid $40,000.00 in gold and currency under or near the bridge.

Fast forward to 1893, due to bankruptcy of the NYLE&W line, Erie Railroad became the owner of the bridge. Locomotives by this time had become almost twice as heavy as they were just 10 years earlier. The old iron bridge was deemed unsafe and the last traffic to cross the bridge was on May 14th 1900. On May 24th demo work began on the old Kinzua bridge and four months later a new steel framed bridge was completed buy the Elmira (my hometown) Bridge Company. The Kinzua bridge was reopened for commercial traffic on September 25th 1900. The new bridge was able to support one of the largest locomotives in the world at the time, the 511 short ton Big Boy.

Not made known at the time, the bolts used to hold the towers to the anchor blocks were reused from the first bridge, which would eventually play a major role in the bridge’s demise. C.R.Grimm, the designer of the bridge, later admitted that the bolts should have been replaced and not reused. Regular commercial use of the bridge ended in 1959 due to a bypass created by the B&O line.

Eventually, in 1963 a bill was signed into law and the state purchased the bridge and nearby land for $50,000. In 1965 the deed was recorded for the 316 acre park and it was opened to the public in 1970.

On July 21st of 2003, the bridge would suffer extensive damage when it was struck by an F1 class tornado packing 94mph winds. An investigation of the damage found that towers 10 and 11 had collapsed first. Towers 12, 13, and 14 had been picked up from their foundations and moved northwest and set back down upright and intact. Held together only by the train tracks that ran across them. Towers 4 through 9 then collapsed, followed by 12, 13, and 14 finally falling to the ground.

Luckily, there were no injuries. According to Wikipedia, the investigation also hypothesized that the whole structure oscillated laterally four to five times before fatigue started to cause the base bolts to fail. The towers fell intact in sections and suffered damage upon impact with the ground. The century-old bridge was destroyed in less than 30 seconds.

I visited the bridge in 2008 with my Sony a200 DSLR, new medium for me. I was trying to learn about 50 things at once and failing at many. I shot the whole day in jpeg to start, as I didn’t even know that the camera had a RAW mode or what to do with it. To be honest, I wasn’t really even thinking about it. I was just in the experience, enjoying the scenery and taking in the whole wonder of it all.

Many would ask, why release these images, aren’t you embarrassed? To which I say, “Why should I be?” This is me, in my rawest form. I know so much more now, but does it make me any better? In some way yes, in others, no. I look back and I am very happy with my journey. Where I came from, where I am, and where I am going are all good in their own ways. I am getting back to just shooting what I feel, and realizing that those feelings are altered now because of my practice, experience, and things I have learned. And these are hings I still do every day. I think it was guitarist Steve Vai that once said Frank Zappa gave him this piece of advice, “Practice like crazy, then when you get on stage, forget it all.” We often cannot separate that practice from performance. Or as photographers we feel that we MUST perform whenever we are out with the camera in public. This is just not true. In this digital age, we can practice, as much as we want. We can even experiment, it has never been easier. I think it is good to separate the practice from the performance. I also think that experimentation has to be part of the latter as well. Soon, it all becomes one and we are a learning machine. If we try to analyze it or force it though, the journey becomes much more difficult and the art will not emerge.

So, I look back at these images and think they still hold up pretty good. Not my best work, but some of my best practice. Where are you in your journey? Where is this never-ending creative track taking you? I think maybe for me, it’s time to revisit this old friend and see if that spark in my eye is still there. Thanks for coming along with me!

If you would like to see the rest of my images from this day, please visit my gallery AT THIS LINK. Thanks!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/05/kinzua-viaduct-look-back/feed/1Local Fare ~ Community Arts of Elmira ~ Elmira, NYhttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/03/community-arts-of-elmira/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/03/community-arts-of-elmira/#respondTue, 22 Mar 2016 08:21:25 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8024Originally, I had this post all queued up to write about the history of the Langdon-Pratt Mansion, home to Community Arts of Elmira, Inc. I love re-purposed, sometimes historic buildings and the many stories that they hold. To be honest, when I started digging into the history on this place..I found myself dazed and confused.read more

]]>Originally, I had this post all queued up to write about the history of the Langdon-Pratt Mansion, home to Community Arts of Elmira, Inc. I love re-purposed, sometimes historic buildings and the many stories that they hold. To be honest, when I started digging into the history on this place..I found myself dazed and confused. With that said, I decided to talk about my experience with CAE and include the significance of the building within. To me, this better represents what is inspiring me to write an article about this wonderful old building in the first place. Maybe you can find some connection, or inspiration to boost your creative soul out of it. If not, well, just enjoy the tale and the photos.

I owe this entire experience to Mr. David Higgins. See his work here: David Higgins Art David is an amazing artist and professor at a local community college and has been a fan and supporter of my work for some time, thank you David! He has a real affliction for the stuff we leave behind, same as I. He is also a Curator at Community Arts of Elmira. David took the initiative to write to me through this site in the summer of 2014 to let me know about our towns Sesquicentennial (150 year) celebration. It was to be a group show at the Community Arts of Elmira and works needed to be connected to the town in some manner. Unfortunately, at the time, most of what I had been shooting was from everywhere but my own town. I had spent the past 5 years moving away from trespassing and taking photos “where I shouldn’t” to a more active historical photography stance. One that was legal and would not affect my life, lifestyle, etc. With that maturity, I found much resistance locally for shooting these types of locations. This left a bitter taste in my mouth. But, such is life and clicking the shutter I must do, so on I went. Thank goodness David was persistent! New Years Eve (Dave, take a day off) he wrote me an email expressing that CAE was very interested in my work and suggested a solo show for 2015. He also connected me with the then President, Board of Directors, Lynne Rusinko. Schedules and conflicts being what they are, we booked a date for June. Even though I had done other installations, art festivals, etc, this would be my first local solo show! Here is a short video of the set-up and installation.

While there setting up, Lynne could see in my work and in my face that I was definitely attracted to the building itself, and all of it’s charm. She was kind enough to offer me a tour, knowing that there was still much work to be done and that I would love the “unfinished” parts, and that, I did! After the tour, I tried not to make it too obvious, but I just HAD to ask to come back with my camera! Turns out I would do it twice! Once with fellow photographer/artist Debb Vandelinder, and once with fellow photographer/artist Louis Quattrini. Truth be told, I could go back a dozen more times!

The restoration is mostly done on the first two floors only, including this meeting area:

As well as a lobby/educational area and this function/reception area.

Obviously the gallery itself has been restored and preserved. The second floor has a few rooms that artists are using as studios but in the back are still some areas that are being worked on, such as this old public bathroom.

This all was just a taste of the real treat which was in the attic, and of course my favorite part of the shoot! The attic of course was full of wonderful treats like this old steamer trunk! (I wonder what’s inside?)

Although it was super cool, shooting here was an extreme test of my and my cameras abilities. Because of the huge range of light in this next shot, which was my favorite and most difficult of the bunch. I had to shoot several different exposures in order to capture it all. My Sony a7rII is capable of nearly 14 stops of light and it wasn’t enough for this scene. I wanted to capture the detail of the cobwebs in the window, the trees outside, and the dust in the shadows, all at the same time! For this image I created a 32bit HDR file with Photomatix 32bit plugin for Lightroom. Then blended a middle exposure with the 32bit file in Photoshop to get my final results.

The final image was graded and then split-toned to produce the above photo. Several shots from the attic were very challenging, but the above put up the best fight. Here are some of the other scenes I captured from this very unique place.

All-in-all it is a very fascinating place and I would like to thank Lynne for allowing me to photograph it. They have a wonderful scenario playing out at the Langdon-Pratt Mansion. Supporting the community arts, a gallery, restoration and preservation of an outstanding structure, all of it is A-1 on my list for sure! The CAE is completely volunteer driven and needs your support as there is still much to be completed! If you would like to get involved, first and foremost, visit the gallery! Take it in for yourself, then contact Lynne (she is there most days) and offer to lend a hand or a donation! Keep up the great work guys, I cannot wait to stop by again!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/03/community-arts-of-elmira/feed/0Local Fare ~ Sonnenberg Gardens ~ Canandaigua, NYhttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/03/sonnenberg-gardens/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/03/sonnenberg-gardens/#commentsMon, 07 Mar 2016 12:31:33 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8371As a boy, I grew up having two parents, my mom, and my grandmother. We didn’t have a lot of money but my gram and mom did what they could each year during the summer to make it special. You have probably seen some of my other stories about these summer travels to Pleasantread more

]]>As a boy, I grew up having two parents, my mom, and my grandmother. We didn’t have a lot of money but my gram and mom did what they could each year during the summer to make it special. You have probably seen some of my other stories about these summer travels to Pleasant Valley Winery, and the Corning Museum of Glass. Check the links out at the bottom of this article if you have not. Anyway, we would take little trips to the lake and stay with family or we would all get together in my uncles big Lincoln Continental (he was a plumbing store owner and therefore considered the rich guy in the family) and travel to various locations around New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. I remember many times sitting in the back of that car listening to Jazz and Big Band music on his deluxe 8 track player, nodding off to Duke Ellington and Momma Cass. My uncle Joe was awesome. He was a crazy gentleman that I looked up to as a kid, like the dad I never had. His family raised Arabian horses and he himself was a harness jockey back in the day. Each summer we would plan a family trip to the Canandaigua Horse Racing Track and it was one of my fondest memories as kid. We would go to the track see the horses, my mom would let me bet $2 here and there, then we would all head into town to have dinner at a local restaurant. I couldn’t tell you what we ate, but I do remember the cheese cake being awesome. My how life and times have changed. One of the times we went I remember it raining the week before and the getting there and the track being so muddy the horses couldn’t run. Back in those days there was no checking the internet, or automated calls. We just thought it was an adventure and headed off. My uncle knew there was more than that to do in the area, so he took us over to a place called Sonnenberg Gardens. I remember being quite disappointed. Flowers, lots of flowers, booooooring. I thought, yeah, this is a grandma and mom thing. They are going talk all day about this flower and that flower, they both loved their gardens. And as I try to look back, to be honest, I don’t remember much about the place. I think I was 10 or 11 years old at the time. I was interested in bikes, and cowboys, you know boy stuff. But, my uncle being the gentleman he was and having 3 ladies in the car knew there was a place that would surely make them all happy…I was the least of his concern on that day.

Flash forward, 40 (yes 40) years. My gram, mom, uncle, aunt, have all been passed now for years, and I miss them. They never got the chance to see me become anything. The Canandaigua Horse Racing Track is now called Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack where the “Racetrack” has now been reduced to a tiny sub-heading on the new “Casino” billing. I have been there, and I found the charm has been polished clean and converted into senior citizen social security swiping machine of digital perfection like so much of the world has become. I am an old soul of sorts. I like what I like and for no other reason other than I like it. Life has changed and I have finally grown up well, as much as I am going to. Times and circumstances today are naturally different. I get to travel more now, pretty much as much as I want to as it is what I do for a living. In my longing to move and to get out and see, many times the local scene gets overlooked. This past year I put down 50,000 miles in travel, which for a local kid who still lives in the same area he grew up is quite a lot. I have begun to revisit many of the locations that I experienced as a kid to relive and record. I am finding that they are extremely enjoyable with these new “older” eyes and mind.

During a 2015 4 day photowalk/workshop I was hosting here in New York, one of the attendees and now good friend of mine (and amazing photographer) Lynn Wiezycki traveled all the way from Florida to hang out with the group. Lynn is part of The Arcanum where I teach. She mentioned staying a couple of extra days and wondered if I had any place I would like to shoot. Must be my uncle was channeling me or something and Sonnenberg Gardens, a place I hadn’t visited in 40 years came to mind. I knew Lynn loved flowers and while it was the wrong time of year for it, I knew she would appreciate the gardens themselves. Honesty time: I was really taking a shot in the dark here because I seriously did not remember much about the place from when I was a kid. Those that spend time with me though will tell you, in this way, I am quite the lucky charm. And while the weather was overcast and drizzly, it was perfect!

There were maybe 3 people there while we were, and for landscape photographers, having the place to yourself is a treat!

A brief history via Wikipedia:

The property was once the summer home of Frederick Ferris Thompson, a prominent banker in New York City, and his wife Mary Clark Thompson, whose father, Myron Holley Clark, was Governor of New York State in 1855. The Clark family was from Canandaigua, NY. Mr. & Mrs. Thompson’s main home was in NYC in a large townhouse on Madison Avenue. The Thompsons purchased the Sonnenberg property in 1863, keeping the name, Sonnenberg (which means “sunny hill” in German). In 1887, they replaced the original farmhouse with a forty-room Queen Anne style mansion. The property also had a 100-acre farm to the east. Sonnenberg’s gardens were designed and built between 1902–1919, and originally consisted of nine gardens in a variety of styles.

The Thompson’s had no children. The nephew who inherited the estate after Mary Clark Thompson’s death in 1923 sold the property to the Federal Government in 1931. They then built a veteran’s hospital (today the Canandaigua VA Medical Center) on the adjacent farmland.[1] The Government used the mansion to house doctor’s families and some nurses. In 1972, by an act of Congress called the Sonnenberg Bill, the mansion and its grounds were transferred from the Federal Government to a local non-profit organization formed to restore and reopen the property.[1] It was opened to the public in 1973. All nine gardens have been restored and visitors can tour the mansion. In 2005, the New York State Department of Parks bought the estate. It is still operated by the non-profit.

Lynn, Dani, and I would begin our journey at the very last place I wanted to visit 40 years ago, the greenhouses. Unfortunately the gardens were not in bloom, we were too late for that, but the greenhouses are always raising new plants and flowers for the grounds.

There may have been little interest all those many years ago, but I would like to think that I have learned a little something since then. I may not be a master gardener, but I do understand the appreciation. And the greenhouses here harbor many a mysterious plant. Orchids, ferns, and palms, oh my!

Next stop, (where we had to dodge the other 3 visitors) the Japanese Gardens, which was also my favorite area of the park.

As I mentioned, we were there in the “off” season but, the Japanese garden was absolutely amazing. I could have stayed there all day!

As luck would have it though, the rain started to sprinkle a bit so we headed toward the mansion for a look-see. Along the way we took in a couple of the many fountains and sculptures found on the grounds.

We finally make it to the mansion and dry off a bit before heading inside.

This place reminds me of stately Wayne Manor in Gotham! It’s absolutely engaging and amazing! Immediately on entry we are met by this grand room.

There was a small staff on hand and they were awesome and informative. The grounds and home are truly one of New York’s hidden treasures.

Around every corner is hidden the secrets of this families once grand life, preserved in perfect detail. Our time this day was limited so there was not nearly enough time to take it all in. In fact, I am planning a spring photowalk there when the flowers are in bloom, keep watch on this site and my facebook page for details when announced.

Daylight fading and Lynn still having quite a drive to her hotel, we decided to have lunch at the wonderful High Noon Cafe there on the grounds. Well known for their delicious crepes and specialty beverages! Travel has changed me, opened my eyes and made me see things in a completely different light. It has made me cherish the small things and seek out the big things. Revisiting these childhood memories helps me compound on that and grow as an artist, and a human being.

If you are in the Finger Lakes area, make sure to visit Sonnenberg Gardens! While this property is in good hands, volunteers and donations are always need for improvements and upkeep. For more details on special events, weddings, moonlight strolls, ,when the flowers are in bloom, and how to donate money and/or time, visit their website @ http://www.sonnenberg.org/

I took a bunch more photos this day as well, you can see and purchase them @ My PortfolioFor every purchase of a Sonnenberg print from my gallery in 2016, over $100 I will donate 10% to the Gardens. More print options than what you see in my portfolio are available as well, please contact me regarding anything you don’t see and are interested in!

Gear used on this shoot:

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/03/sonnenberg-gardens/feed/4Local Fare ~ CMOG ~ Corning, NYhttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/01/local-fare-corning/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/01/local-fare-corning/#respondMon, 18 Jan 2016 18:33:42 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8283This will be the first in a series of posts on local travel locations. Often, because I have lived here so long, I have overlooked the obvious. Many of these sites I visited regularly when I was a kid and they have all stood the test of time for a reason. My hope is to shareread more

]]>This will be the first in a series of posts on local travel locations. Often, because I have lived here so long, I have overlooked the obvious. Many of these sites I visited regularly when I was a kid and they have all stood the test of time for a reason. My hope is to share these fascinating places in a new light. I am kicking the series off with a visit to the Corning Museum Of Glass!

Located on interstate 86 in upstate New York, Corning is most noted for its glass production. Most notably in the consumer market, Corelle Dinnerware, Pyrex Cookware, and Gorilla Glass. Many glass artisans are attracted to the Corning area as well. Corning’s Market street, a rich and restored shopping district, also known as the Gaffer District is teeming with uniquely original glass and traditional art galleries, restaurants, cafes, retail shops and more. There really is something on Market street for everyone. In support of its rich glass history, Corning Incorporated supports its own Corning Museum Of Glass aka C.M.O.G.

Glass History Museum

The museum not only spotlights artists in its galleries. It has a huge collection of glass items as it has existed through history in culture, technology, and art. Glass is one of those things that you do not really get the scope of until you see it presented this way. We would be pretty much nowhere without it.

Artists Gallery

And while the history of glass was captivating and extremely interesting to see and learn about, the artistry was what I was there to see. CMOG is set up with a large museum area for glass history (it’s been around a while), a medium museum for technology and demonstrations, and up until recently only a medium-sized gallery for artists. In March of 2015, Corning opened an enormous 100,000-square-foot Contemporary Art + Design Wing including a new 26,000-square-foot contemporary art gallery building, the largest space anywhere dedicated to the presentation of contemporary art in glass. And let me tell you that not only the exhibits are gorgeous but the building itself, designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners is a masterpiece itself! We’ll get to the new wing, but let’s take a peek at some of the art from the old gallery first.

There are some larger pieces here, but most are small to medium-sized. The gallery includes a great variety of subjects and all genres are well represented. Here were some of my favorite pieces.

While some of the subjects here are easy to see that they are glass…others, not so much. And this is why I think that glass is such an amazing medium from which to work.

And that is just a very small slice of what you will find in the gallery. Now it’s time to take a quick look at the tech museum before finishing off with the new contemporary wing. I highly suggest that you start with the historical glass, then the small gallery, moving on to the innovation center, and finishing with the new contemporary wing. This will build a nice experience for you in the long run. The museum has an amazing gift shop and cafe as well. Plan to get there early and spend the whole day. If you do lunch at the cafe in the middle of your experience you can then head over to Market street for a dinner later. I highly suggest the amazing Atlas Pizza for the best pizza in the STATE (maybe the country). Or, if you prefer a more upscale fare, check out my friends Michael and Emmett’s place The Cellar. You might even see a piece of my work hanging there.

Innovation Center

Corning has achieved many “firsts’ over the years, and the innovation center is where you will find record of them. Everything from Space Shuttle glass, cookware, mirrors and lenses to laminates and beyond. All set up with cool interactive displays! Nikola Tesla would be proud!

In the tech museum you can not only learn about Corning’s amazing accomplishments but you can also watch live demonstrations happening throughout the day as well. And while all of this is fascinating, the new Contemporary wing is calling. So off I head.

Contemporary Art and Design Wing

CMOG’s new contemporary wing houses the most amazing works of glass art on the planet. Thematically curated galleries here highlight exhibits that refer to nature, the body, material, and history. Here are a few of the exhibits I found to be amazing.

His piece called Carroña (Carrion) features a blood-red hand blown glass Venetian chandelier, partially shattered on the floor with a murder of crows scavenging the shards. A metaphor for the gradual disappearance of the traditional glass industry in Murano, Italy. Because of the way this exhibit is displayed it was very hard to get a wide shot of it. For that I will share just this photo in hopes it will drive you to want to see it for yourself. To me, this one piece was worth the trip.

Well there you have it. Aside from shooting an event at the Museum, I had not visited as there casually since grade school. As usual, I will spend the next several weeks kicking myself as to why I waited so long. Preservation and support of our museums is so needed as they are vital to our communities history, AND future. The internet is fine for what it is, but seeing these pieces in person (cinematic 3D if you will) is the only way to go! If you are in the upstate New York area, especially the Finger lakes, make time for Corning. You will be glad you did! Oh, and if you do go, make sure you get the APP for your phone as it brings a whole new experience to the gallery.

If you would like to check out all my photos from the trip, follow this link: Full Gallery

As always, feel free to share this story on your blog, facebook, with family and friends!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/01/local-fare-corning/feed/0Mono Lake ~ Californiahttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/01/mono-lake-california/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/01/mono-lake-california/#commentsFri, 15 Jan 2016 21:44:05 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8264Mono Lake (moh-noh) is a large, shallow saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake. These salts also make the lake water alkaline. This desert lake hasread more

]]>Mono Lake (moh-noh) is a large, shallow saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake. These salts also make the lake water alkaline.

This desert lake has an unusually productive ecosystem based on brine shrimp that thrive in its waters, and provides critical nesting habitat for two million annual migratory birds that feed on the shrimp and blackflies (that also feed on the shrimp).

The human history of Mono Lake is associated with its productive ecosystem. The native Kutzadika’a people derived nutrition from the pupae of the alkali flies that live in the lake. When the city of Los Angeles diverted water from the lake, it lowered the lake level, which imperiled the migratory birds. The Mono Lake Committee formed in response and won a legal battle that forced Los Angeles to partially restore the lake level.

Ironically, it is because of this water level change that visitors are able to view the amazing tufa that are present in just a few areas of the lake’s shore.

These tufa as they are known are formations of limestone, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from ambient temperature water bodies. Originally, before the lake was partially drained these formations were not visible. They have now become a huge attraction for photographers and tourists. So by draining the lake and exposing these tufa, awareness has been raised in order to save and preserve this unique habitat. A sad path to take, but it has ended well.

While in the Yosemite area we would visit Mono Lake twice. It is located just outside Yosemite through Tioga pass near the small town of Lee Vining. Our first visit to the lake was done in order to pick a nice spot for some night photography, which ended up being a bust. Luckily for us we also scouted out an area for sunrise the next day. I did manage to capture this black & white photo utilizing my new #29 Red filter.

The rest of the day we would spend exploring route 395, and the June Lake area with a nice stop at the Double Eagle Resort for refreshments. On our way back to Yosemite for the evening we wandered across this beauty and had to stop for some shutter time.

Scouting around while the others lined up their shots I found a note from the previous owner.

This left me warm and fuzzy and I had a great feeling about meeting up with Sharlea Taft of SGT Photography the next day to catch the sunrise over Mono. Back to the camp for a good nights rest as a 4am start would come mighty early. And so it did. Up and ready to go, Erin, Danielle, and I made our way down Tioga Pass in the dark to find Sharlea at Mono, fingers crossed all the while that we would get good light. Once there (way too early) we all decided we should get breakfast and then make our attack. A quick breakfast down and we were parked and heading in. It was pretty chilly but the adrenaline kept me warm. Here we are getting set up and praying for the sun to break through.

Our first glimpse over the lake and it doesn’t look too good for a popping sunrise.

But, not 10 minutes later we get our wish. Once up off the horizon a bit, the sky turns dramatic and the lake lights up a brilliant blue and then various shades of pink and purple.

Mono Lake does not disappoint! Just a few minutes after this shot the color had come and gone and we were headed off for a long day shooting at Bodie Ghost Town. I really wish I had more time here at Mono Lake, even if my nose did not. I really loved the odd and alien-like landscape and would have loved to explore and discover more. It is definitely on my return trip list! You can view all of the shots from my visit there at THIS LINK.

Here is a map where you can find the Tufa for yourself. Download the Park PDF HERE

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/01/mono-lake-california/feed/1Yosemite ~ Part Three ~ Tuolumne Grovehttps://theexplorographer.com/2016/01/yosemite-part-three-among-giants/
https://theexplorographer.com/2016/01/yosemite-part-three-among-giants/#respondSat, 02 Jan 2016 19:04:15 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8224Well there is no doubt that if you have followed me for a while you know that I am a bit of a Star Wars geek. Without a doubt, this story about Tuolumne Grove in Yosemite National Park, will drive that home for you. Now I am not one to collect action figures, legos, or do cosplay. read more

]]>Well there is no doubt that if you have followed me for a while you know that I am a bit of a Star Wars geek. Without a doubt, this story about Tuolumne Grove in Yosemite National Park, will drive that home for you. Now I am not one to collect action figures, legos, or do cosplay. Even though I know and love those that do. I think I find joy in the Star Wars of real life and those sorts of comparisons. The whole master and apprentice thing at The Arcanum where I work mirrors the Star Wars Jedi way. Visiting Death Valley for the first time in 2015 and having a freak snow storm roll in and not even knowing that I was standing where Mark Hamill and Sir Alec Guinness did when they overlooked “Mos Eisley” from Dante’s view. Giving me an identical view to the one that inspired George Lucas himself.

Funny thing is, at the time I had the feeling I had been there before and didn’t know why. It wasn’t until I started to do some research at home that I read it was the background matte for Mos Eisley. But again it was that “feeling” of deja vu, kind of like “the force”, right?

So this year during my epic 6 day stay in Yosemite National Park, one of the side trips was to Tuolumne (too-AH-lum-ee) Grove. Tuolumne Grove is a sequoia grove located near Crane Flat in Yosemite National Park, It is about 16 miles (26 km) west of Yosemite Village on Tioga Pass Road. The grove contains many conifers, including a few Sequoiadendron giganteum as well as Abies concolor and Pinus lambertiana. While smaller than the Mariposa Grove (which was close for rehabilitation) the Tuolumne Grove is less visited and provides a more secluded experience. And what an experience it was…a step into the real forest moon!

The hike was an easy one, and the air was just uplifting. Rich with oxygen and fresh with the damp with the smell of conifer. I could have hiked for days in here. When you first approach, the forest seems normal. Dense growth of smaller trees, ferns, and various vegetation. All what you would expect but with just a hint of magic in the air. After 2/3rds of a mile or so, the first giant Sequoia tree rises to meet you. At first it just doesn’t seem real but as you go, the reality of this giant world starts to sink in. Suddenly I am 15 years old again and racing through the groves on my Speeder Bike. Okay, walking…but in my mind I am speeding!! Toulumne grove is a 2.4mile hike round trip and the only downside if there is one is that the hike back out with its 400foot elevation climb. A tiny price to pay for the amazing experience. This grove includes many live trees, none of which you can get too close to, and with good reason. But, there are 4 fallen trees that I counted that you can experience first hand. The first we found was a giant mature Sequoia that had fallen during a forest fire. This thing was bigger than a city bus!

Even though this tree had fallen, it was still rock solid. Something like this is great to get to see up close. I was quite disappointed to see that 1000’s of people had carved their names into this old tree. Yes, it has fallen, but do we always need to leave our mark in this way? We should respect and honor things like this…not lift our legs to them. A few hundred yards up the trail we come upon another fallen giant.

This time though, you can actually crawl though the inside!! Here is a view of the “tunnel” up the trunk.

Pretty cool and a bit of a tight squeeze at the end. There are a couple more fallen Sequoias here at Tuolumne, this one-off the beaten path that I found interesting.

And then of course the obligatory “tunnel” Sequoia at the end of the trail.

All-in-all, this was my favorite part of Yosemite. It was so calming yet stimulating at the same time. I know that Star Wars was not filmed here but I could definitely connect again with the atmosphere that must have inspired Lucas to create the Forest Moon of Endor. It is so great to touch on these creative inspirations and experience them first hand. And even if you are not a Star Wars fan, make it your own fantasy visit. You will enjoy the adventure to a much greater extent, and maybe turn back the clock a bit as well, and who doesn’t want to feel a bit younger? Oh, don’t forget your camera!! To see all my shots from Yosemite, check out the entire gallery here: Yosemite Gallery

May the force, be with you!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2016/01/yosemite-part-three-among-giants/feed/0ICE ND Filter Reviewhttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/12/ice-nd-filter/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/12/ice-nd-filter/#respondWed, 30 Dec 2015 02:42:07 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8204I, like most photographers try to do as much research on gear as I can before I purchase. Some of it is scouring reviews like these, and some of it is feature based. I try to weigh price against feature and work my way to a decision based on that. With that said, Iread more

]]>I, like most photographers try to do as much research on gear as I can before I purchase. Some of it is scouring reviews like these, and some of it is feature based. I try to weigh price against feature and work my way to a decision based on that. With that said, I doubt that the ICE ND Filter would have made my list on its own. Luckily though, while out on a shoot with some friends from out-of-town, one of them told me about the ICE ND filter. His name was Derek Kind and he is an awesome photographer and an all-around nice guy! If it was anyone else, I probably wouldn’t have given this filter a shot. I had left my Lee Big Stopper and my B+W ND filter both at home (rookie mistake) and he was kind enough to offer up the ICE. I didn’t get a chance to use it that day but I did make note of it.

My first neutral density filter was a B+W 10 stop filter. I purchased it for around 110.00 and loved it. It is well-known for its low color cast (we’ll talk about this in a bit) and good color reproduction. While it is an expensive filter, I did not mind spending the money for the best. Well, at least I thought it was the best at the time.

Let’s talk about cast baybee! Color cast is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a tint left on the photo from the filter. And while you can clear it up with a white balance correction, this can have an ill effect on other colors that you do not want changed. Here is an example of color cast (left) and what it looks like when removed (right).

CastB+W Color Cast DemoCorrected

As you can see the B+W has a bit of a warming effect. Correction is good but does take some fiddling with to get perfect. I was pretty used to doing this so it was really no big deal. Time consuming to get right but not half as bad as some filters out there I have seen.

So when Derek told me about the ICE, one thing intrigued me, and that was the price. He had the 77mm screw on 10 stop version and told me it only cost him $29 during their Kickstarter campaign! I was super skeptical, but Derek knows his stuff. His selling point was, “Hey, it was only $29. If I didn’t like it I could send it back.” Good point, so at the first opportunity, I jumped over to Amazon.com and I grabbed one. And finally this past weekend I got out and was able to shoot with it. Here are some images from that shoot.

This image was a single exposure. Shot with my Sony a7rII utilizing the ICE ND Filter attached to a Zeiss 16-35mm lens at f/7.1 with a 30 second exposure. Only a very slight white balance correction was done. I say ever so slight as it is barely noticeable. Here is a before and after of another image. Same as before, Uncorrected is on the left, corrected on the right.

UncorrectedICE ND FilterCorrected

To my eyes, the uncorrected shot is just a tad bit colder in tone. And really would look fine with no correction at all. I tend to like to warm up my shots a bit, depending on the scene. I am now considering replacing me Lee Big Stopper with the 100mm ICE ND. In fact I am going to buy two of them as they are only 59.95 right now on Amazon. If you need a status symbol, run out and buy the Lee..it will only set you back 288.00 for the filter and the holder. Or go with some other filter. Now that I have purchased the ICE ND filter and given it a go, I’m sold! Thanks Derek! It’s got a rigid low profile frame (the screw on filter) and all the ICE filters are high quality optical glass not resin or plastic.

Want more reviews like this one? If you do, please support this site by using my Amazon shopping code. It’s easy, whenever you go to Amazon, just use this link: http://amzn.to/1RtZKS7 Then when you buy, you get a great deal and we get a referral! Simple as that. You can click THIS LINK now and save it as your Amazon.com bookmark (Click the link and then hit CMD+D on a mac or CTRL+D on PC). Now you have the link whenever you need it. Every little bit helps! Thanks!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/12/ice-nd-filter/feed/0Yosemite ~ Part Two ~ Inspirationvillehttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/12/yosemite/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/12/yosemite/#respondFri, 18 Dec 2015 14:06:40 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8166So, as stated in part one of this series, Yosemite for me was all about channeling inspiration. I tried to do this at every location we visited. I would try to imagine what it was like to hike to the spots that we drove to, even the ones that we hiked to after we drove toread more

]]>So, as stated in part one of this series, Yosemite for me was all about channeling inspiration. I tried to do this at every location we visited. I would try to imagine what it was like to hike to the spots that we drove to, even the ones that we hiked to after we drove to the trail-head. The days it must have taken to get to where we can get to now in just a few hours. The payoff must have been amazing. Then to get back to camp and process the film, just wow. So, for me, all of that appreciation went into every photo I took here. And putting my mind into that state I think really helped me.

Day three had arrived during our stay, and the smoke was not letting up. We decided that we would head to higher ground, find the famous Tunnel view, and make our way up to Glacier point. Erin who was with us is an avid back country hiker and was itching to take the trail there and then meet us back in the valley. Our first stop would be the famous Tunnel View which resides on Wawona Road, directly across the valley from El Portal Rd. It offers an iconic view of Yosemite valley and a photo that you MUST take while you are there. With that in mind, I was not to thrilled about doing anything other than seeing this location. Since it had been shot so many times before, what could I bring to the table that someone else hadn’t already. Still, I felt obligated to take at least a snapshot.

When we finally arrived, the place was mobbed. Of course its an overlook so as long as you can get a space, you can set-up and get your shot. I was planning on doing a high-resolution panorama using my new (vintage) OM 35-105 lens. The vista is big enough here that I can use that in two passes to get all I needed. When I finally made it to the wall, I could not believe my eyes…

Aside from them still burning from the smoke, a miraculous thing occurred. The sun, the clouds, and the smoke, all came together and gave me this wonderful photo. The photo above was shot with my new Sony a7rII in portrait mode. I took 217 images (HDR), processed them in the popular Photomatix software in 32bit, and stitched them all together in Photoshop to create the final image above. I summoned everything that I had ever learned to capture this amazing moment and bring it home to share. When the image was complete I was so happy and confident feeling that my goal was realized. The first non-stop plane ride, the long hours, the hiking, it was all worth it for this one shot. Little did I know at the time, but over the next couple of days, Yosemite was about to put on a show for me and my camera!

Our next stop was up the long and winding road to Washburn point. High over the southeast part of the valley it gives an amazing overview of the formations below. Especially the famous Half Dome. We arrive again to a packed, but not as bad as Tunnel View parking lot. The view below is breathtaking as clouds twist and dance through and over the valley.

It is from Washburn Point that you first realize the majestic dominance of Half Dome. From the valley floor and most vistas below it just looks like and average sentinel in the distance. But from up here, you can see that it rises above all else. When you compare it to Vernal Falls located in the lower right, it’s mass becomes clearly apparent. A gentleman standing next to me who appears to be a “regular” here states that clouds like this are a rare occurrence at Washburn. These were not normal clouds. There was a beautiful light about them and they were moving at a break-neck pace. Half Dome for a while looked like it was generating them all by itself. Here is a shot I dubbed “The Weather Machine”

I also shot some 4K video from there to show how amazing these clouds were.

It felt like something straight out of Lord of the Rings! Another amazingly inspirational moment for me at Yosemite. After taking in the fresh air and beautiful scenery, we headed off to Glacier Point and a bit of light rain. Erin decided to brave the sprinkles and head off as Dani and I headed back to the Valley floor and to seek out Valley View. Try as we might though, we could not find it. Valley View as you will find out in Part III is a sneaker of a little stop to find. We did find a few other spots though….

On top of all that, Dani and I enjoyed visiting the Ansel Adams gallery and finally seeing his prints in person! I exercised a bit of retail therapy as well and bought a new MindShift 360 Backpack. Turned out to be an excellent purchase and allowed me to retire my 8-year-old Tenba backpack for something lighter and more versatile. I’ll be doing a full review on it soon!

That’s a wrap on part two. Join me in part III where I visit some giant trees and get one last super show photo-op before saying goodbye (for now) to Yosemite National Park.

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/12/yosemite/feed/0Yosemite ~ Part One ~ Magic is Realhttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/12/yosemite-part-one/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/12/yosemite-part-one/#respondMon, 07 Dec 2015 02:39:26 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8138This story actually starts in 2012, a long way from Yosemite National Park. Farther even, than the 2261.215 miles that lie between me and it. Preface In 2012, a producer at a local PBS TV station here in upstate NY approached me about doing an artist spotlight piece on me and my work for a show called “Artistread more

]]>This story actually starts in 2012, a long way from Yosemite National Park. Farther even, than the 2261.215 miles that lie between me and it.

Preface

In 2012, a producer at a local PBS TV station here in upstate NY approached me about doing an artist spotlight piece on me and my work for a show called “Artist Café”. You can see the original show here: http://goo.gl/M592oo The spot was so well received that National PBS picked it up and ended up distributing it throughout the US. As you can imagine, this did really nice things for my career and really was the “sign” that directed me toward this thing called “photography” full-time. A short time later in July of 2013, an email arrived in my box, this is what it said:

Name: Dr. William Ryan, Professor / University of Oregon Message: Hello, A. D. – I’m writing a new book on media professions and currently working on the photography chapter. The thrust and structure of the book is interview driven. I would like to interview you and profile you and feature work in the text/ebook. I’ve a meager budget and almost all of the books artwork is gratis. The process is fairly simple and I’m doing email interviews. It allows interviewees the opportunity to think about the questions, and gives them initial editorial control. I’d be happy to discuss the process and the book in more detail – if you’re interested. I’ve admired your work and initially wandered into it via an art program on OREGON PUBLIC BROADCAST network. I hope you’re agree to be part of this project.

Now I will be honest, I get emails like this all the time and it becomes harder and harder to answer them all. But, this was to be for a text-book and it intrigued me. So, I went ahead and wrote back accepting Dr. Ryan’s challenge. A couple 20 emails later and a little over a year and Dr. Ryan got his images and interview. It was during this ping-pong of emails that I was trying to explain my HDR (High Dynamic Range) process, and likened it to what Ansel Adams did with dodging and burning black and white film. This immediately was picked up by Dr. Ryan and he ran with it. I thought nothing of the reference, as it was just a vehicle for me to explain my process. And to be honest, other than photos of Yosemite, black and white photography and the dodging and burning thing, I really knew nothing of the great Ansel Adams.

Part One ~ Magic is Real

Fast forward a year or so to December of 2014. I had been teaching at the spectacular Arcanum for about 7 months now and was searching the interwebs for some inspiration to share with my students. There were some photographers that I had regularly called on, but this time I wanted to serve up a master. So, off I went to YouTube looking for a biography on Ansel Adams. Upon finding this video:Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film 2002. Aired by KBPS, San Diego. Oddly enough, one of the PBS stations that aired my segment as well. I watched and was glued to the screen for the entire 53 minutes. Needless to say, his story touched very close to home with me. So much so, that when the opportunity arose in 2015, I took my first airplane flight to San Francisco. Yes, 51 years and I had never been on a plane. I love driving, and I love seeing all the things along the way so I guess it just never happened. From San Francisco, my girlfriend and my student/friend Erin Riedel drove out to a cabin in Yosemite. Afforded to us so awesomely by another student/friend of mine, we got to stay, nicely accommodated, inside the park for a full 6 days! It was a dream come true for me. The small community of Foresta is a gloriously beautiful area perched high over the El Portal Canyon. Scorched by a terrible wildfire in 1990, Foresta looked like something straight out of the video game Fallout 3. There may have even been a couple of Mole rats and a Deathclaw out there….Burnt yes, but still powerfully beautiful. Nature’s (and man’s) work over 26 years, making a comeback. And so it goes in Yosemite and in life. The endless cycle of birth, growth, death, and so on. And so it was going when we arrived. The air was thick with smoke and ash from several fires burning in the surrounding areas. At night it would trigger the motion lights on the cabin and you could see the particles in the light beams. 2015 was a horrible year for wildfires and we were in the middle of it. While we never feared for our lives, the high Sierra air was thinner and in combination with the smoke and ash particles, it became an eye burning, lung scorching environment. You can see it here in this sunrise shot over Big Meadow in Foresta.

You can see the smoke/fog in the background from the fires making the morning air hazy. It took us a few days and some welcomed clearing to get used to it. In fact, during the first 2 days we would leave the park and make our way east to Tioga pass and Tenaya lake where the air quality was quite a bit better. Tenaya lake is breathtakingly calm and soothing. Even with the crowds, though thinner in late September, I could see how peace and the spirit could be found here. I struggled with all my might to capture something with just a twinkle of that in my photos from this magnificent place. Here is a super wide 36 frame panorama of the valley approaching Tenaya.

I was perched precariously on a bus sized boulder high over a rocky cliff to get that shot. Even though it was only in the low 60’s I was sweating like a hydrant. It’s at this point also, I should mention that just before this trip I purchased a new Sony a7rII camera and had quite the good time breaking it in here. Also, as a complete side story to this, along our way from San Francisco to Foresta, Erin suggested we stop for lunch in the small town of Petaluma, California. She had been once before and was keen to show us some of the cool shops around town. It was while looking for a camera store, I spotted a 3 story old bank that had been converted into an antique store. It was a cool old western bank adorned in brass and marble. When I entered a little old lady greeted me at the front desk and I asked her sheepishly if the had any old camera gear. She pointed toward the back and in a smooth voice she murmured “Oh yes, we keep it all in the vault”. The vault hmmm? As I approached, it surely was a vault! Huge brass and steel doorway that lead to a marble lined bank vault. Inside there were dozens of brightly lit glass cases with all sorts of cool gadgetry. But, in the back I could see a case full of cameras and lenses, so there I headed. Leica, Hasselblad, Nikon, Olympus, Canon, Kodak, just about everything. The minute I saw Leica and Hasselblad though, I knew it was out of my price range. Erin was looking for a nice vintage 50mm for her Sony though so I asked if I could paw around. The gentleman there unlocked the case, I must have looked like a 5-year-old in candy store! After deciding that there was nothing that Erin and I could afford I noticed an old lens in the back. I took a look at it and it was a Zuiko Olympus mount 35-105mm 3.5 lens from circa 1980. It was in immaculate condition but had no price tag, I feared the worst. I flagged down the clerk and asked for a price. After much fumbling, he said how about $85.00? “SOLD” I said before he could get the full price out of his mouth. A rookie mistake I know, but I didn’t want the lens burglar to somehow swipe it from my grasp while I looked for my wallet or something. Turns out this lens would end up on my camera 85% of the trip! I am now completely hooked on Zuiko OM lenses and own 5 of them….so far thank you Vintage Bank Antiques of Petaluma. The Panorama above and the shot below were both shot using the 35-105mm. Okay, sorry about that….where was I?

Oh yeah, it’s hard to get a sense of scale at that distance. Upon approaching the lake the area opens up and you experience the grand calm that is Tenaya.

Something drove me to shoot photo after photo in black and white. I wasn’t sure what it was at the time, maybe later I would figure it out. I was enjoying the beautiful calm and gorgeous skies overhead to give it much thought at the time.

We would continue down and scope out Mono lake for our planned shoot the next day there and at Bodie which you can read more about in this article: Bodie Ghost Town

Feeling that I had sufficiently channeled the master even a little bit, which was great for the first day. We headed back to the cabin for a good nights rest and an early rise for Bodie. Check back for Part II, where I have a near out-of-body experience, and witness Yosemite on fire!

Part II and a full gallery coming soon, as always you can click on the photos to purchase prints and download the images!

~AD

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/12/yosemite-part-one/feed/0Pennsylvania Camping ~ Ives Runhttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/pennsylvania-camping-ives-run/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/pennsylvania-camping-ives-run/#respondWed, 18 Nov 2015 22:08:29 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8084Pennsylvania Camping, pffft! I will start out this post by saying that I am really a hotel kinda guy. I love the outdoors, as well exploring some of the most dark, moldy, disgusting places on earth. But, when I lay my head down, I prefer it not to be in some bug infested abandoned building. Myread more

]]>Pennsylvania Camping, pffft! I will start out this post by saying that I am really a hotel kinda guy. I love the outdoors, as well exploring some of the most dark, moldy, disgusting places on earth. But, when I lay my head down, I prefer it not to be in some bug infested abandoned building. My girlfriend Danielle though is just the opposite…I think she could sleep anywhere. So, back in 2014, when our friends James and Ashley invited us to go camping with them I have to admit, even though she was super excited, I wasn’t that thrilled. Ashley and James are awesome and I knew that part would be a blast but I wasn’t too thrilled about sleeping in a tent. But hey, life is about getting outside the box…and in this case it was outside the house, and into a tent! So we called ahead and reserved a site at Ives Run located on Tioga-Hammond Lake in Northern Pennsylvania. Here’s Ashley and James rowing in on their vintage canoe.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon and got checked in and found our site. Got our tent all set up and did a little exploring. Ives Run offers plenty of access to man-made Tioga-Hammond Lake. But, the real adventure for me was exploring the areas around the site. We had visited Ashley and James earlier in the year when they were camping here just for a picnic. Though our time was short the firs visit, I was able to explore and get a “lay-of-the-land” for our stay this time. We also had an amazing sunset that evening and I was able to capture this shot.Not only was the sunset amazing but so was the sky afterwards. Here are some captures from that first visit.

Needless to say, the area had captivated me to the point I was willing to sleep in a tent to experience it again.

Back to the current stay. So after a day of biking around, scouting out places to photograph we had dinner and night set in. I made my way to a pond just to the south of the lake. We were staying in Pine Camp which is specifically for tents and is a much quieter area in the campsite. If you go, and are just tenting, it is highly recommended. You will want to reserve well in advance as the park fills up quick. My plan in this remote area was to set up my camera and do a star trail shot of the lake. A late fog began to set in just towards the end the shoot so I packed up the gear and headed back. I was uncertain of how the shot would turn out seeing that I was shooting in the direction of where the sun set earlier, the lake position and several other factors. But, when I got home and processed the shot I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

This was the first time I had captured a leaping fish in ANY shot, let alone a star trail! Having gotten my fill of “after-dark” shots I headed back to the tent to settle in for the night. Surprisingly, I fell asleep quite easily. I should explain, I generally sleep about 4 hours a night and wake up, ready to go.. I have trouble getting back to sleep after. But, sleeping on an air mattress in a tent, I was to be lucky to get 2 hours of sleep…. I was wrong. I slept a full 8 hours uninterrupted. My girlfriend said that I was as quiet as a mouse as well. Apparently, I snore once in a while. I awoke fully refreshed and felt amazing! What was this? What I thought was going to be a horrific night ended up being the best night sleep that I was able have in years! Up at 5am and sunrise the girls headed off on a bike ride. James cooked some breakfast, it was the beginning to a great day. While James cooked, I snapped some photos of the amazing fog on the lake.

I was starting to like this camping thing. After breakfast still before 8am, Dani and I headed off to a rail trail to check out the scenery. The fog on the trail was epic!

All-in-all, this was a greater idea than I could have imagined! This turned out to be the YEAR of getting outside the box and my how my whole life has changed since! Pennsylvania camping was definitely NOT a pfffft and is highly recommended! Do yourself, your body, and your mind a favor. Trade in the hotel for a cheap Coleman Tent, a decent air mattress (and electric pump), and a nice night out under the stars. You’ll be glad you did!!

Click this LINK and see the whole gallery from Ives Run and our Pennsylvania camping trip!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/pennsylvania-camping-ives-run/feed/0Abandoned Catskills Part II ~ Albert Househttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/abandoned-catskills-part-ii-albert-house/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/abandoned-catskills-part-ii-albert-house/#respondMon, 09 Nov 2015 15:55:33 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8056The Catskills are an abandoned paradise, literally. So much history, so much good times, so much gone. Oh, many of the structures remain, and some of the history. For those that care to remember and retell it. That too is fading I am afraid. The place I show you today is a perfect example. Though justread more

]]>The Catskills are an abandoned paradise, literally. So much history, so much good times, so much gone. Oh, many of the structures remain, and some of the history. For those that care to remember and retell it. That too is fading I am afraid. The place I show you today is a perfect example. Though just a shell of it’s former self, it is always nice to stumble upon such a pristine site with little to no tagging or scrapping. Maybe because there is really nothing of value there anyway, at least on the surface. For me the value is in the wonder and exploration.

This adventure starts like most with some friends from downstate that I met on the internet. Wait, I know what this sounds like. But, for the most part they are normal folks that like me, like to explore and take photos. All of them were met on Facebook through my photography and stories which is something that I love about what I do. John Arehart is from Jersey, Joe Lehman (Joe’s Website) is from PA but now lives in Florida, and Chad Gagnon is from New Hampshire. We all met on facebook through the exploration of the old Grossinger Resort in Liberty as Joe’s dad was the VP of Servico, the company that bought the Grossinger Resort out of bankruptcy and were the first to attempt to rebuild it. A few years back we all got together, including my pal Walter Arnold and did a cool explore of the Grossinger property together. A place we all had previously explored but not as a group.

Inadvertently, through all the fun we had on that meet-up, we may have started a tradition. So, this year John set up a few places for us to check out and called a meeting in the Catskills region of New York. One of the sites was this old hotel with a church next door, as well as some cool outlying cabins.

The place was cool, but the little church next door really stole the show. More on that in a bit. There were a few really cool scenes in the hotel, like this first floor stairway.

Most of the hotel was pretty wrecked and emptied out though. It looked as though someone had tried to fix the place up but failed. Many of the places in the Catskills that I visit actually look this way. it was refreshing to see that this place, while starting to cave in, was untouched by vandals for the most part. Hopefully, it stays this way.

After I returned home that night, I scoured the internet for some history on this interesting place. Originally, I had thought this a place known as Esther Manor, where singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka got his big break. Later though, I discovered it was actually known as the “Albert House”.

Named after Albert Montgomery Fulton, Jr. an 1897 Harvard Graduate. The Albert house had a reputation as a high-class resort house back in the day. Sad to see what it has been reduced to now.

As I said earlier the little white church next to the hotel was pretty cool and at the time, stole the show. It looked like a scene straight out of The Walking Dead.

Sometimes I really think I could find some great locations for the show, so hey Robert Kirkman, if you are watching…please give me a shout! Here is a little something from the inside.

Well that’s a wrap for this site. Stay tuned for another “Catskills, NY” episode coming soon! Next time we will be exploring the old rehab manor located nearby. To see all of the shots from the hotel and church, check out the rest of the gallery at: http://goo.gl/6HNsiv

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/abandoned-catskills-part-ii-albert-house/feed/0Abandoned Catskills, NY ~ Shoot the Poolhttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/abandoned-catskills-ny-shoot-the-pool/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/abandoned-catskills-ny-shoot-the-pool/#respondSun, 08 Nov 2015 21:06:36 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8049On a recent exploration located deep in the Catskills, NY region. A group of friends and I came upon an old pool table hidden in one of the rooms in this old hospital. It was pretty cool and at the time I took a few shots but didn’t think much of it. A great timeread more

]]>On a recent exploration located deep in the Catskills, NY region. A group of friends and I came upon an old pool table hidden in one of the rooms in this old hospital. It was pretty cool and at the time I took a few shots but didn’t think much of it. A great time was had by all (featured in an upcoming blog), and that was that. When I returned home I processed a few of my shots and uploaded them to my usual networks. This was the shot:

One of my friends who usually attends these sorts of shoots with me but was unable to this time, contacted me almost immediately. “Duuuuuude, that pool table is sooooo coooool”, he said. Or something to that effect. His name is Walter Arnold, and he is a long time friend and co-adventurer/photographer. He was so excited to see the table he hatched a plan to make his way up to New York from his home in North Carolina just to shoot it with me. Walt does a lot of art shows and he explained to me that the #1 request he gets is for an old abandoned pool table, and he has not been able to find one still in tact, especially as “nice” as this one! So he sets up a schedule for a few weeks out and we set a date. In the meantime he tracks down some vintage pool balls, chalk, and cues from eBay. Normally we never set-up shots like this. But I knew there were no accessories there so we were going to help the scene a bit this time. All in the name of art right? All went as planned, we got there, got in and set up our shots. I took a few here and there, but this shoot was for Walt so I kind of let him go at it for about an hour or so. Here are a couple of my “in between” shots.

He was hemming and hawing over getting the shot the way that he wanted (he is a perfectionist when it comes to his art)

So while Walt was snapping away, I sauntered off to the adjacent room as to allow him to focus. Suddenly I hear Walt yell, “F#$K!!” Apparently, my professional artist and photographer pal had been shooting for the last hour in jpeg. (For those unaware, this is a mode in your camera that saves in reduced quality and files size, or disastrous mode) I laughed for almost 30 minutes straight. Not at Walt mind you, but at the whole situation. This has happened to me before and has happened to most photogs I know. Almost like a rite of passage. Anyway, back to square one with Walt. Short story version, he got the shot! We explored a few other places that day which I will be posting in this Abandoned Catskills, NY series so stay tuned for those. Be sure to check out all my Pool Table shots at this gallery link: http://goo.gl/xTQvGC

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/abandoned-catskills-ny-shoot-the-pool/feed/0EasyAcc Classic Power Bank Reviewhttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/easyacc-classic-power-bank-review/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/easyacc-classic-power-bank-review/#respondTue, 03 Nov 2015 20:20:43 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8038I have to admit, I used to laugh when I saw people lugging these things around to charge their phones. I personally had never had a reason to have to charge on the go. Right up until I took my first non-stop flight across the US from Philly to San Francisco this past September. I didread more

]]>I have to admit, I used to laugh when I saw people lugging these things around to charge their phones. I personally had never had a reason to have to charge on the go. Right up until I took my first non-stop flight across the US from Philly to San Francisco this past September. I did some research and found out that there was no power for the 5.5hour flight. My concern was to keep my iPad charged so I could play Lego Lord of the Rings for the whole flight. Also to take some photos and mess around on my phone. I was pretty sure the phone would make it, but I knew the iPad would not. So I went in search of a device to handle the task. Mainly I had affordability in mind but also wanted the maximum number of recharges for the buck as well. Through quite a bit of research online I came up with the 15000mah Solar Panel EasyAcc Classic Power Bank.

Styling aside (I really like Orange), It’s a well built unit with a little weight to it but not bad at all. It weighs what you expect a battery of this size to weigh. The pack comes with a key ring carabiner and two USB cables with micro USB ends. 1 cable is roughly 6″ and a 2nd cable included is 24″. The unit does not come with a charger. You can charge it up using your standard phone charger and one of the included cables. You can charge the unit and have the unit charge a device at the same time but it is not recommended as it may shorten it’s effective life. There is a charge check button on top and 4 LEDS, each of which represents 25% increments. It also includes two charging outputs both of which will charge at the same time. One of the USB outputs is a 2A port with the ability to fast charge your devices and a standard 1A port for regular charging. Charging of the pack itself by plugging it in to a standard phone charger takes about 10 hours to charge from 0% to 100%. So approximately 10% per hour. Charging by solar is painfully slow and I really can’t see any reason to care. I have to be honest I did not put it on the dash while driving or put it out in the sun…and here’s why. I was able to charge my Galaxy S5 from about 10% to 100%, 5 times. My iPad 3 times, and my Sony a7RII about 8 times! Yes, I can actually charge my camera with this thing. In fact, I have been recharging my camera in between locations and getting a whole day of recharging out of this thing and only using 1 battery in my a7RII. The drain on the pack for doing this was typically about 35%! It also works as a continual power supply for the camera if you happen to forget your batteries. (I would never do that) So basically for the day or so that I was unable to charge the unit it lasted the entire time, as did my mobile devices. Camping for more than a couple of days would probably leave you without power. Generally though, you will have a car with you so you can charge it that way. If you are heading to the back country you are of course going to want a larger solar panel unit such as this one: Anker 14w Dual-Port Solar Charger For most, the EasyACC is all you will ever need in a portable backup battery.

Coming in at only 35.99 over on Amazon.com, I consider this a really great unit. I think if I were to re-purchase this I would probably get the 20000mah version without the solar panel. Maybe the more I use it while traveling I will rely on the Solar panel. Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, I will never laugh at anyone carrying one of these around again! I am finding it hard to live without it now.

Here are my amazon links where you can get both the 15000mah and 20000mah versions.

Want more reviews like this one? If you do, please support this site by using my Amazon shopping code. It’s easy, whenever you go to Amazon, just use this link: http://amzn.to/1RtZKS7 Then when you buy, you get a great deal and we get a referral! Simple as that. You can click THIS LINK now and save it as your Amazon.com bookmark (Click the link and then hit CMD+D on a mac or CTRL+D on PC). Now you have the link whenever you need it. Every little bit helps! Thanks!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/11/easyacc-classic-power-bank-review/feed/0Bodie Ghost Town ~ Bodie, Californiahttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/10/bodie-ghost-town-bodie-california/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/10/bodie-ghost-town-bodie-california/#respondMon, 26 Oct 2015 12:33:50 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=8000Located in the middle of nowhere just beyond Mono Lake, California outside of Yosemite National park is Bodie Ghost Town, or what is officially known as Bodie State Historical Park. Bodie became an official State Park in 1962 and is not administered by the Bodie Foundation which uses the tagline “Protecting Bodie’s Future by Preservingread more

]]>Located in the middle of nowhere just beyond Mono Lake, California outside of Yosemite National park is Bodie Ghost Town, or what is officially known as Bodie State Historical Park. Bodie became an official State Park in 1962 and is not administered by the Bodie Foundation which uses the tagline “Protecting Bodie’s Future by Preserving its Past”. And it’s a great tagline too. It certainly got my attention as it is really what my photography is all about.

Bodie Ghost Town has a huge historical background and you can read it at length if you so desire on the dedicated Wikipedia page found here. And before you visit, I suggest you not only read that but also check out the official California State Parks page on Bodie found at this link. Along with some shooting tidbits found on this page you should have quite an enjoyable trip.

The first thing you should know is that the park opens at 9am. Try to arrive 30-45mins early as there will be a line. This park receives roughly 200,000 visitors a year and is quite busy on a steady basis. The park takes CASH or CHECK ONLY so be prepared. Current rates are $5 per person, $3 per child (1-17) and infants under 1 year are free. The park is located northeast of Yosemite about 13miles east of Highway 395 on Bodie Road which is a lightly maintained dirt road. ANY 2WD vehicle can make this trek but take it slow as it is a washboard in areas. Only an experienced motorcyclist should attempt the road though, as a couple dumped their Road King right in front of us on the way out and they were taking it easy. Luckily no one was hurt but the bike was pretty damaged from the spill. Use caution, be respectful and courteous on the road.

The very first thing we did after we got parked was to head to the furthest part of the park. While the wave of tourists just ran to the first building they saw, we wanted “Ghost Town” photos and those generally do not have people in them. By heading to the furthest side of the park first, then working our way back, we were able to accomplish this for the most part as “the wave” moved in the opposite direction. There will always be a few “Walking Dead” you will need to shoot around, that’s the fun part right?!?

All of the people there including the rangers are quite nice and polite. We had a great time and were blessed with some amazing skies for our shoot there. Most of the time I was shooting with my new Sony a7rII coupled with a Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 lens. I did shoot HDR to capture the wide range of light found at Bodie Ghost Town. I did make good use of the amazing autofocus capabilities that you can get from the combo. This allowed me to “focus” on creativity and less on the settings and camera itself. For me, this is the greatest feature on the Sony a7rII, as it allows me to be more creative with my shooting.

Most all of the building with just a few exceptions are blocked from interior exploration (as you can see above, you can still shoot through the windows, although not optimal). This is understandable from a preservation perspective. Some buildings like the church and a few other buildings though are fully open for you to check out and photograph. Bodie Ghost Town also offers a special tours of some of the other restricted interiors (at a special permit rate), a tour of the main mill, that is mostly still in tact. They also feature night tours for star gazers and ghost hunters if you so desire. I would have liked to spend more time here at night and done some light-painting and creative strobe work with some of the structures. I will definitely make another visit to this amazing historic place. My fellow photographers and friends Erin Riedel and Sharlea Taft spent about 6 hours on the grounds and really only got to explore about half of it. You definitely need 2-3 of these 6 hour days to take it all in. Most great places warrant a return though and Bodie Ghost Town is definitely one of them!

I shot a lot of fun photos this day, if you want to see them all, maybe purchase a small print or two, please check out my gallery at this link. Feel free to share this article on facebook or wherever, it’s always appreciated!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/10/bodie-ghost-town-bodie-california/feed/0Tomales Bay State Park ~ Point Reyes Californiahttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/10/tomales-bay-state-park/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/10/tomales-bay-state-park/#respondTue, 20 Oct 2015 10:51:33 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=7961During a recent trip to the San Francisco area, I was tasked with setting up a short hike and landscape photo shoot with some friends. I love planning things like this but usually it’s based around a location or site I have been to before or know a lot about. We’d be staying at aread more

]]>During a recent trip to the San Francisco area, I was tasked with setting up a short hike and landscape photo shoot with some friends. I love planning things like this but usually it’s based around a location or site I have been to before or know a lot about. We’d be staying at a cool place called Tomales Bay which is north of San Francisco and located in the Point Reyes area. Unfortunately, time here was limited sadly. I must say, out of all the places we visited on this trip, this was in my top 3. And if it weren’t for Yosemite being in the mix, it would probably be my #1. With accommodations for the night set at the wonderful Tomales Bay Resort, my next job was to find some place interesting to explore the next morning and Tomales Bay State Park looked to be it.

To do research for the hike I would fall back on my old pal Google maps for help. Generally, I will scour google maps with the Earth function turned on and look for cool or unusual photos to appear on the bottom of the screen as I search. This works most of the times, but sometimes it can just lead you down the rabbit hole if photos are not location tagged correctly. My search found all sorts of amazing sites in Point Reyes. Lighthouses, old boats, beautiful fields and shores. All with one big problem…we had very limited amount of time. One photo popped out and grabbed me though. It was an amazing photo of all these twisty trees covered in rich green moss, like some crazy scene from a Tolkien novel. After further searching, I found this place to be a small trail at Tomales Bay State Park.

Only one problem…aside from a small state parks website, this one photo was all I could find. So, my choice were; do we go see a few things in Point Reyes and call it a day, or do we try for magic at this unknown place? Well, if you know me, then you know the answer! The scene was set to explore this trail at Tomales Bay State Park and we would be leaving at 5am with the goal to catch the rising sun rays cutting through the fog among the twisty trees (hopefully there were more than in the photo)! An early start was needed not only for the atmosphere. I am told that once the parking lot at Heart’s Desire Beach fills up, they do not let anyone else in… getting there early meant that we would get a spot and hopefully a peaceful walk through this forest. Low and behold, that is exactly what we got!

Not only are the visuals and mood here simply magical, the trees are one of the finest remaining virgin groves of Bishop pine in California. To see them, go just before dawn, park at Hearts Desire Beach parking lot, Find signs for the Indian Nature Trail on the north side of the lot…just to the right of the bathrooms. It’s a short hike up a medium hill in, but what awaits you is in no other words truly magical! We only got to explore one trail here and part of another..the park offers much more by way of the much longer Jepson and Johnstone trails. Next visit, those are definitely on the list! If they offer half of what was found on the Indian trail you will be blown away.

If you want to go and/or find out more about the amazing history here, I suggest that you check out the park website (no dogs allowed) and please respect the land and all park rules, oh and don’t forget your camera to capture and bring home some of the magic! To get more stories and photos like this delivered right to your email, please subscribe to my blog on the sidebar, as well as like andshare with your friends!

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/10/tomales-bay-state-park/feed/0Sony a7rII Review ~ First Impressionshttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/09/sony-a7rii-review-first-impressions/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/09/sony-a7rii-review-first-impressions/#respondFri, 04 Sep 2015 18:56:04 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=7887Well Hello there! Better late than never, I guess. While the rest of the world was out shooting with their Sony a7rII cameras, I was sitting home waiting on the delivery man. I finally got it and have been shooting here and there with it now for about a week. As I stated in the openerread more

Better late than never, I guess. While the rest of the world was out shooting with their Sony a7rII cameras, I was sitting home waiting on the delivery man. I finally got it and have been shooting here and there with it now for about a week. As I stated in the opener Review page, this will not be an overly technical review. I will dip here and there but I am no scientist. What you will get here is my honest opinion on how it works for me, a travel photographer first, and an all around photographer second. Keep that in mind when reading and viewing on.

An Easy Step.

So it should be worth noting, I have been a Sony shooter since the release of the a100. I then moved to the a200, a500, a55 DSLT, a77 DSLT, a99 DSLT, a7r mirrorless, and now to the a7rII. I have traveled the road of mockery for being a Sony shooter and learned from it. I learned to not pay attention to that sort of thing nor perpetuate it. In the end, it is about the photographer and how she/he uses their tools. Yes, we need quality tools, but I am going to out on a limb here and say that if you stick with the solid names in the camera world, and you are finding serious fault, you might want to look within first. Sony, Canon, Nikon, Lumix, Fuji, Olympus, and Leica are all putting out killer products all with different features. Some with more than others, but all of them have one thing in common, you CAN make amazing photos with them. I started with Sony because well, I was a beginner without a lot of money. I felt Sony knew what they were doing when they acquired the Minolta name and trusted they would do good things with it. There were a lot of tough times in those early years. But I think for me, if I didn’t have some of those equipment short comings, I wouldn’t have become as versatile as I am today. I stuck with Sony because like a lot of folks you invest your time into learning the camera and your money into the expensive stuff, the glass. By staying with Sony, I was able to maintain my glass and not lose my investment. This is very important to most folks I believe and is the #1 reason for brand loyalty. Having spent nearly a year on the Sony a7r, I was fairly at ease with the a7rII. Basically, it is just an a7r on steroids. The more I delve into it, the more I realize it is much more than that. Lets talk.

Hey, What’s in the Box?

Well I am not one for un-boxing videos…or un-boxing reviews even…but there was a surprise in the box worthy of a little talk-about. While I LOVE Sony cameras, they have always been a bit stingy with accessories. Even up to this year they weren’t doing much with photographers and paring up with them. So I was really happily surprised when I looked in the box and saw not only a nice compact charger for the USB port on the camera, but a standalone wall charger and not one but TWO batteries!

Kudos to you Sony for finally stepping up in that department. As for the rest of the fare, also included is a simple Sony a7 emblazoned camera strap, hot shoe cover, a special cable restraint adapter (another nice touch for the video guys), and decent simplified manual in several languages. All-in-all a nice surprise right out of the box.

Okay, Tell Me About The &%$# Camera!

Okay, but remember…first impressions. There will be more as I get to use this thing in the real world a bit. First thing out of the box you notice is that the a7rII is quite a bit beefier than the a7r. It is heavier too. While the a7r comes in and svelte 14.4 ounces, the a7rII rings in at 151 grams more or 19.8 ounces. So where the a7r was under a pound, the a7rII is over. Compare that to my a99 full frame though blundering in at 25.9 ounces and also having a battery grip weighing twice as much and we are looking at quite a difference.

The a7rII is not that much thicker than the a7r. At first it looks to be but then you notice that it is the way the LCD is set into the back that makes the difference. The difference ends up being around an 1/8 of an inch difference. Most notably the body itself is not the shiny sleek look of the a7r. The a7rII has a pebble finish and is much beefier feeling to the hand. I like the feel of the a7r although at first sight I thought it would be too small for my fists of ham. It turned out to be nice, but the a7rII fits perfectly. It’s bigger in all the right spots for me. Just one of many improvements I have found with this mark II. Here is a set of “walk around” photos comparing the a7r (left) to the a7rII (right).

Okay, So What If I Never Owned an a7?

That is an excellent question Watson! So probably the greatest single feature for me on the a7rII is it’s adaptability. Being mirrorless there is a large chunk of space that is not needed. This moves the lens mount closer to the sensor. Downside is, Sony is playing catch-up making new lenses for the a7 line. Upside is, while you wait there are literally tens of thousands of other lenses out there you can use. There are dumb adapters (manual everything) for just about every film camera system made. And most of the better quality adapters are under $25.00. This means you can go absolutely hog wild with vintage glass.Most of which is much higher quality than a lot of the lenses made today. (look for my best buy reviews coming soon) Gems can be found from about $35 up. And if you are savvy enough to check your local rummage sales and hock shops you will find even better bargains. I am also happy to say that for you Canon and Nikon folks that have been waffling on making the switch, the a7rII has gotten it right! Outfit the a7rII with the appropriate metabones adapter and you will see full aperture and auto-focus control with no lag! That’s right, reports are in that the slight lag that the a7r and earlier models experienced is now non-existent. The metabones will set you back anywhere from 100-500 bucks, but its a pretty good bargain to keep all your current invested glass complete with full functionality.

Alright, What Else Ya Got?

Well all of the familiar features of the a7 system are still in place, many with super boosted mutant powers. You get standard NFC transfer to your phone for social media sharing, full PlayMemories app functionality through wifi, Infrared remote control, wifi remote control using Playmemories remote (free app on iOS, Android, and Windows), and card-less shooting to the app as well albeit in jpeg only you could use it in a pinch. The a7 series menus will be very familiar to any users of previous Sony’s but to the new user they can be a bit daunting at first. I suggest putting the camera in tile mode which starts you out with big icons and most functions sorted neatly behind each tile. This a7rII is a monster when it comes to options though. I am not going to try to cover them all here in text. I will save that for the video. So far battery life seems to be as good as the a7r, which is not great. But, the batteries are small and 3rd party batteries are cheap and for the most part just as good. I generally bump charge the cheaper cells which is not the greatest for them, but it does get the most shoot time out of them and I haven’t had any troubles at all with doing it. Bumping only seems to work with the Sony wall charger and I would never attempt it while the battery was in the camera. Essentially, you charge the battery until the light goes out, pull the battery and then put it right back on. It will charge for another 15-20 minutes and then do it again. You keep doing this until the charge light goes out in about 10 seconds. Then you know your battery is at full capacity. ONLY do this with non-Sony batteries though.

Let’s Talk about Everyday Use

One of the most talked about and sometimes controversial features of the a7 system has been the Electronic View Finder or EVF. Because the mirroless system is, well, mirrorless, light comes through the lens, into the sensor and then that data is fed off to the EVF and to your eye. In a DSLR light comes through the lens, off a mirror, through a prism and into your eye done at the speed of light. All of this electronic stuff of course takes a wee bit of time, light converted to data, converted back to light, blah, blah, blah. In previous a7 systems there was a bit of lag which when moving around and looking through the viewfinder that made you feel more drunk than you actually were. Enter the new XGA OLED viewfinder coupled with optics by Zeiss and you end up with a Houdini of an EVF. Utilizing a quick-transmission copper wiring layer on the sensor speeds output data 3.5 times faster than previous versions. The end result is an EVF that can fool you into believing it is full optical. Yay for no more overly drunk photographers! All of this really means that this camera is much easier to manual focus. Even without using the Matrix style focus peaking. A feature I still do not completely trust. The biggest problem I had with the 36megapixel a7r was getting manual focus tack sharp. It seemed to be really picky to me. Whether it’s the new EVF or the backlit sensor, I don’t know but the a7rII is much easier for me to nail manual focus on. I love using old manual lenses with these cameras and now it’s even more fun when I know I can actually focus them.

Pictures, Show Me Pictures!

Yes, I have actually taken some photos with the camera. Some of them even caused quite a stink over on facebook because I failed to shoot them in a sterile environment in a hazmat suit while calibrating my tripod with a micrometer. What I will show here are some shots that stand out to me and why I was impressed with them. The following image was shot using the Sony LA-EA4 Alpha to E-Mount adapter. Full auto-focus, ISO800, 90mm, f/8 @ 1/1600th sec. The lens, a Quantaray 28-90mm Macro, was a $10 rummage sale find!

Full FrameISO800 90mm 1/1600 f/81:1 Zoom

Same lens and settings:

Full FrameISO800 90mm 1/1600 f/81:1 Zoom

So 1:1 at ISO800 you can see that the noise performance is quite good. Let me be clear on my stance with noise. Noise is NOT always bad. I have seen cameras with color noise that is horrible, but I find that contrast noise can be quite pleasing. That said, at web resolutions of 2650 pixels long edge noise all the way to ISO6400 is not going to be an issue at the default crop. I have not done any print testing yet, but I think it is safe to assume from the 1:1 crops I have looked at that ISO3200 should yield very pleasing results up to 24 inches by 36 inches, maybe even larger. I think it all depends on what you are going for. I have always found that the noise in the Sony cameras to have a film grain quality up to a point. Anything beyond that point is going to take some serious work to be usable. And remember, I am talking straight out of the camera here with no noise reduction. There are plenty of great tools to deal with noise as well is a pretty solid long exposure noise reduction routine right in the camera. All numbers aside, I am extremely happy with the low light performance of this camera. And while this may not be anything new to Canon 5DmkIII or Nikon 810e owners, it is a long time coming for Sony owners to be able to dive deep into the ISO pool and come up with some serious treasure. Speaking of which, Timer plus EV Bracketing and up to 9 Exposure bracketing has been begged for since the a100 days and I am elated to say with the Sony a7rII that it has arrived! Yes, you can now capture extreme dynamic range with up to 9 brackets at 1 EV spacing. For someone who has never liked allowing the software to fill in the HDR blanks, this is GREAT news. I shoot in a lot of locations where the light is less than optimally balanced. For instance, in an old abandoned building with bright sunshine coming through the windows. These situations are extremely difficult to get right. Now I don’t always need to capture all of that light, but having the option is wonderful. Here is an example of where this type of range may be needed.

Sunny day, shooting from the exterior of my garage, to the interior. Here is as close as I could get with one exposure, using LR to expand the range as much as possible. ISO100 16-35mm Zeiss Lens @ f/8 1/125 sec exposure. Highlights -100 and Shadows +100 in Lightroom use zoom to pay close attention to noise levels in the shadows around the workbench in the garage and the highlights details in the clouds.

Full FrameSingle Exposure1:1 Zoom

Here is the 9 bracket HDR version processed in 32bit Lightroom only. Again look at the shadows (and lack of halos in high contrast areas)

Full Frame9 Bracket HDR 1EV Spacing1:1 Zoom

Mind you I would probably not need 1:1 for this shot..but I do very large format prints of my abandonscape work and it is very important to capture detail in the shadows without noise as well as highlights without halos or being blown-out. These situations are extreme, but in the places I shoot, I run into this a lot. Nice to have a camera that can handle it.

Single shot exposures DO have a huge range though. Since moving to the a7 system I have cut down the use of HDR dramatically. It is astounding what these little cameras can capture in just 1 exposure and how even that can be expanded with the use of Sony’s built-in Dynamic Range Optimization. A great feature for single exposures but you must make sure you do not use it for capturing brackets as it will create some extremely funky artifacts when combining exposures.

First Impressions Wrap-up

Well there you have it. Is my testing scientific? No way, and to be honest, I could really care less about the numbers. CAN the Sony a7rII get the job done? YES! It is a very capable camera so far. I have done no real shooting up to this point with it. I’ve run through the garden a few times, shot the product shot at the beginning of this article with it using my Yongnuo Strobes and Transmitter. Along with just the few shots you see here, that is about it. The real test is about to come!

What’s Next

Well, how about 6 days in Yosemite and 5 days in San Francisco? I am heading to the west coast for an extended stay and should return with a pretty extensive shooting report to round out the middle of this review. Make sure you subscribe to this blog so you can be notified of new reviews, especially the follow-up to this one! Thanks guys and gals, see you soon!

Want more reviews like this one? If you do, please support this site by using my Amazon shopping code. It’s easy, whenever you go to Amazon, just use this link: http://amzn.to/1RtZKS7 Then when you buy, you get a great deal and we get a referral! Simple as that. You can click THIS LINK now and save it as your Amazon.com bookmark (Click the link and then hit CMD+D on a mac or CTRL+D on PC). Now you have the link whenever you need it. Every little bit helps! Thanks!

~AD

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/09/sony-a7rii-review-first-impressions/feed/0Joshua Tree Pilgrimage ~ Bonus Materialhttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/08/joshua-tree-pilgrimage-bonus-material/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/08/joshua-tree-pilgrimage-bonus-material/#respondMon, 10 Aug 2015 21:23:12 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=7751So hopefully you have read my other Joshua Tree Pilgrimage posts. If not, please check out the four-part series here on the blog. So the whole premise of the trip was learning and teaching with my apprentices from the Arcanum. And even though we really didn’t hit on it directly, it seemed to be successful.read more

]]>So hopefully you have read my other Joshua Tree Pilgrimage posts. If not, please check out the four-part series here on the blog. So the whole premise of the trip was learning and teaching with my apprentices from the Arcanum. And even though we really didn’t hit on it directly, it seemed to be successful. Maybe more successful because we just went at it as a bunch of friends having and adventure. Less structure, and pressure to perform. It seems to work for my methodology at The Arcanum as well. Anyway, I thought I would share a series of videos with you that I did after I returned from the trip. 3 of these are me just listening to music and processing my shots. It will give you a better behind the scenes view of what I do and how I do it. The final video is a narrative on a shot that I took so you get to “hang-out” with my team and see how that goes.

My hope in all of this is to let you into my world a bit. As well as the incredible world ofThe Arcanum. Hope you find this youtube playlist enjoyable and informative. Please feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer them here in the comments.

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/08/joshua-tree-pilgrimage-bonus-material/feed/0Joshua Tree Pilgrimage Part IVhttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/08/joshua-tree-pilgrimage-trip-part-iv/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/08/joshua-tree-pilgrimage-trip-part-iv/#commentsTue, 04 Aug 2015 10:00:26 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=7602The Trip Grand Finale With Joshua Tree National Park left in our dust, the next stop is Flagstaff for the night and up early for sunrise at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Erin is along for the ride to Flagstaff from Techatticup, Nevada. She’ll be grabbing a rental and parting ways after our sunrise rendezvous. Onread more

With Joshua Tree National Park left in our dust, the next stop is Flagstaff for the night and up early for sunrise at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Erin is along for the ride to Flagstaff from Techatticup, Nevada. She’ll be grabbing a rental and parting ways after our sunrise rendezvous. On the way out of Eldorado Canyon we see a sight that is just to gorgeous to resist. We make a quick stop for some shots.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Initially as we head north the thought is to make a stop at the Hoover Dam. Unfortunately due to time constraints and the early start the next day our stops will have to be quite limited from here to Flagstaff. Just as we cross into Arizona on Interstate 93 just outside of the Lake Mead National Recreation area, we pull off for a break at a rest stop overlooking Willow Marina on the Colorado river.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Erin and Murray see something interesting off in the distance and take off running. Here is a shot of them capturing their prize. Lightbenders attack, form of photoninjas!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Turn-a-bout is fair play I guess…

Photo by Erin Riedel

Erin sneaks a shot of me trying to use the sign as a tripod in the fading light. Here is the shot I was taking.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

And another from that same “tripod” just a few minutes later. This is the Willow Marina on the Colorado River.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Such a beautiful area! With the last of the sun setting, it was time to make our way into Flagstaff for a nice meal and a good nights sleep for the early rise in the morning. After a great nights rest we were up early and ready to face whatever the day had to throw at us, or so we thought. (dun, dun, DUUUUUN)

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Wait….what?!? Snow in Arizona?? Oh man, they are never going to let me live this down! After a quick ski trip to the Bob Evans for breakfast and about an hour and forty five into our 2 hour trip it was apparent to us, that this was no ordinary trip to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I have been twice before, but nothing prepared me for the sheer breath taking beauty of snow in the Grand Canyon!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

So far on this trip we have battled blizzards in Virginia, ice storms from Tennessee to Texas. Endured high winds in return for stunning visuals in White Sands, New Mexico. Sweating it out to blistering heat in Tucson, Arizona. Unmatched skies and sights in Joshua Tree. Snow in Death Valley. Rainbows over Nevada. And now snow in the Grand Canyon, are you kidding me?

(click photo for download and purchase options)

I am pretty sure with no amount of planning could it have gone any better to this point! The Grand Canyon on it’s worst day is gorgeous, but with snow and these amazing skies, I am speechless.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

(click photo for download and purchase options)

(click photo for download and purchase options)

(click photo for download and purchase options)

We finish our shoot of the canyon at the epic Desert View Watchtower. The snow here is 16″ deep and just amazemaze!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

How about a quick selfie in front of a snowy Grand Canyon before bidding Erin a safe trip home? I think so!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Bittersweet hugs all around, it was time for Erin to head off for some more adventuring on her own before flying back to Philly. Meanwhile, Murray and I had a long, arduous, and somewhat sad trip back to North Carolina. Nothing really but 2,146 miles and 31 hours of driving a head of us. A breeze really, right?!? Wait, one last place I want to show Murray just outside of the park before the madness begins. I discovered this little location in 2012 when I literally did a drive-by of this amazing soul rejuvenating place and had an “I MUST STOP HERE” moment. At first it’s just a pull off along side the road with a pretty view, but the more you just stand quietly and look, the reality of what you are seeing sets in. It is on protected private land, so we do not enter the property, and there is really no need to. All you need to see is right there from the side of the road. And this day we get a little added bonus of a huge approaching, you guessed it, snow storm. I call this shot, “Monster”.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

It’s by no means the prettiest spot in or around the Grand Canyon, but for me it shows the brutality of it’s formation with the surrounding lands and the scope of it all. I was happy that I got to share it with Murray on his first trip out here. Unfortunately, that “monster” I spoke of, would be a sign of things to come for the journey home. But for the time being it was off to Santa Rosa, New Mexico for a hot meal and good nights rest. The last legs of the journey are long 10 hour drives, or at least that’s what we have planned. Tomorrow’s journey will take us across Texas, through Amarillo, then through the entire state of Oklahoma to Van Buren, Arkansas for the night. Piece of cake, right?

So the trip back as I said is usually pretty boring. It’s the end of the “vacation” and everyone is tired, etc. I have taken this trip many times, so I still a few tricks up my sleeve. One was to visit the famous car sculpture “Cadillac Ranch” just outside of Amarillo, TX. But when we got there we were not greeted so well. Here we are at a truck stop near there, gathering our wits about us.

That’s right folks….snowing….in Texas!! So with the “ranch” a bust, I take Murray to the next best thing, The BIG Texan Steakhouse (cue the YEEEEHAW).

The BIG Texan

Now I have been to the BIG Texan 4 times in the past and I have never eaten there (Exterior photos are all from a previous visit). It’s not just a steakhouse, it’s a souvenir shop, a motel, and has some cool “over-the-top” attractions out front. Apparently every other time I was there I was just too distracted to eat.. I mean, look at this giant sign of a famous cowboy.

Woody? Is that you?

Regardless, this time, thanks to the lovely Texas weather we are here to eat! And eat we did!! And I must say, the food was great!

Inside the BIG Texan Restaurant

All kitschy-ness aside, and even though I will never be up for the 72 oz. Steak in 60 minutes challenge, I will definitely stop here for a burger and a beverage again when I am in the area. But for now, it’s off into the Texas snow and a trip across Oklahoma to remember.

We are taking the famous Route 40 from Amarillo to our hotel which is just over the Oklahoma/Arkansas border. It’s 2pm when we depart the Big Texan and google maps puts us in Van Buren, Arkansas at 8:29pm. But, for the next 446 miles we would have a traveling partner….this:

Our trip ends up taking 10 hours and we finally arrive in Van Buren at 12:30am! My arms and hands were aching from the death grip I had on the steering wheel. I was completely exhausted from the nearly 14 hours of driving under extremely poor conditions. As soon as we made the hotel, I hit the bed like a ton of bricks. Hopefully by tomorrow, the storm will have passed and we will make it from Van Buren to Murfreesburo, TN without issue. Murray and I have plans to revisit Burgess State Park and that old hydro electric station at the waterfall there.

Van Buren, Arkansas to Murfreesburo, Tennessee

Murray grants me a pardon and allows me to sleep in to the late hour of 10 a.m. We make a run to the local iHop for a nice healthy (cough) breakfast and hit the road. The first 2 hours to Little Rock, are not too bad. The roads are mostly clear with some slow downs for spots still covered with snow. But just outside of Little Rock, we run into this:

Trapped in the land of giant boxes! If you notice the road has these patches of thick ice in random spots. All along the way we see trucks and cars off the road. For the next 5 hours and 137 miles to Memphis, TN we would crawl. Near the end of the mess that was Arkansas we were running low on light, bladder strength, and gas! It was time to make a much needed pit stop, if we could! It was right at this moment we came to an absolute halt.

I checked my phone to see what the deal was.

Yes, 1 hour and 43 minutes to travel 7.3 miles. I didn’t think poor Murray was going to make it. And it wasn’t going to get any better. Once we got to that exit, it took us 45 minutes to get across the exit and into the truck stop. Murray hung in there and made it though! We took time to relieve ourselves and grab some tasty truck stop chow and contemplate our final (without delays) 3.5 hours, 239 miles to our hotel in Murfreesburo, TN. Luckily for us, most of the route was clear. We made it there in just under 5 hours. Putting today’s driving total at 14 hours behind the wheel. Once again, I was a brick! As I faded off to black, my mind was reeling. I knew that I could not do a third long haul again tomorrow. I prayed myself to sleep.

Murfreesburo, Tennessee to Murray’s House, North Carolina

Luckily for us, all we were cursed with on this last leg to Murray’s house was drizzle and cold. Unfortunately, both Murray and I were too exhausted to stop at Burgess State Park. We drove like madmen and arrived at Murray’s in just over 8 hours. After we un-pack Murray’s gear we have another amazing meal cooked by Murray and his wife. An early night was just what we both needed. In the morning, Murray had a surprise location he wanted to take me to.

Murray’s House, NC to Harrisonburg, Virginia

Up bright and early and fully refreshed, I hop in my car and follow Murray to one of his favorite local locations to take some sunrise shots at Historic Yates Mill County Park. It’s a little Northwest of Murray’s home and southwest from Raleigh. We got up early so that we could catch sunrise at the mill. Unfortunately, we were met with locked gates when we got there. The park really needs to recognize that most photographers who visit will want to visit early for the best light. The more photographers, the more visitors, especially if the photos are awesome. Murray and I do not let this discourage us. We find a pull-off near a bridge at the Mill’s dam and decide to shoot from the road. Not ideal but we have made the trip! Turns out that this road is super busy and dodging for our lives to get the shot is not high on our list. With a bit of ingenuity, I find a way to the other side of the fence. I shout to Murray to come on over. The look on his face when I just appeared on the other side of the fence was quite classic. Anyway, here are the shots from this beautiful mill, first from our original position on the bridge.

(click the photo for download and print information)

Here is a shot from “under the bridge” as I found my secret way in.

(click the photo for download and print information)

And here is my favorite from the bunch.

(click the photo for download and print information)

And this is the end of the road for Murray and I. A great way to end off a long journey. Although, I am still 10 hours or so from home but I’m not going make it in one run. You see, I have a make-up date with another old mill in West Virginia! Daylight is burning. Murray and I say our goodbyes and I am off to Babcock State Park in West Virginia once again, before heading to Harrisonburg, Virginia for the nights stay. The mill and Harrisonburg would be my last stop before finally heading home. Hopefully this trip out to the mill, I will be able to get into the park. Unable to find any information about conditions online, I decide to take my chances! I mean, it’s only 3.5 hours out of my way.

The road ahead looks promising as I pass Pilot Mountain via Route 52.

Hopefully all will be good once I reach West Virginia. Just two more tunnels and a bit of back roads and I will be there!

Now I am seeing more snow and getting a bit nervous. As I get closer, more and more snow, although the roads are clear. The roads were clear the first time yet huge piles of snow were blocking the entrance. This doesn’t look good!

Luckily, the entrance is clear! Unluckily, as I start to pull in, I see before me a very narrow, nearly single lane road, very steep, and covered in very SHINY snow. I was hoping that it was water…it was not, it was all ice. I went as carefully as I could and the Subaru Crosstrek, once again was amazing. It handled the ice covered hill very well. I think my heart only quit beating a couple of times. At the bottom of the hill I miraculously found a few cars and a lot of snow. The mill was more gorgeous that I could have ever imagined it. I carefully made my way over one of the snow banks and as close to the edge as I dared and got my first shot.

(Click for download and print options)

It took me about 10 minutes to set up and grab this shot and while I did the couple of cars that were here, are now gone and I am all alone. It was so quiet and surreal. I made my way up and around the souvenir pavilion there and down a snow covered flight of stone stairs. I should probably say “slid” down the stairs although it was more like an orchestrated prat fall. Thank goodness no one saw that. X^) I make my way out onto a large (and very slippery) rock to set up for my next shot. The snow is gorgeous and the sun on my skin is warm. I pause for a moment and take it all in, I have been truly blessed on this trip.

(Click the photo for download and print options)

The two trips here were well worth it. I love old mills like this and getting to photograph two in one day is incredible. I will definitely be back here….soon! One last black and white for the road.

(Click the photo for download and print options)

That’s a wrap! Just 3 hours to the hotel in Harrisonburg, Virginia and then about 6 hours home to New York. It was 14 days on the road and nearly 8,000 miles total but it went by in a flash! I just cannot express how amazing it was hanging out out in person with my incredible new photography friends, so I put it in a video.

Thank you for joining all of us on this amazing journey. There will be many more in the future I assure you. In the meantime, please check out TheArcanum.com and found out the Amazing that you can unlock there and these fine photographers:

]]>https://theexplorographer.com/2015/08/joshua-tree-pilgrimage-trip-part-iv/feed/1Joshua Tree Pilgrimage Part IIIhttps://theexplorographer.com/2015/07/joshua-tree-pilgrimage-part-iii/
https://theexplorographer.com/2015/07/joshua-tree-pilgrimage-part-iii/#respondSat, 25 Jul 2015 11:48:52 +0000http://theexplorographer.com/?p=7554While Joshua Tree National park was the destination for the group, there was still much adventuring to come.

]]>While Joshua Tree National park was the destination for the group, there was still much adventuring to come. It was at this point we had to bid Caleb a fond farewell as he had to get back to his family and work. Steve would end up continuing on with Lisa, and Erin would end up riding with myself and Murray. Steve would have to leave after the next two stops and Erin was continuing on to Flagstaff with Murray and I. So sit back, grab a favorite beverage because we are about to cover several states and many VERY cool stops in the finale to this EPIC adventure!!

Yogi and the Bear ~ Photo by Lisa Speakman

Twentynine Palms to Death Valley

Our planned route would be to take Amboy Road north (with a brief but very cool stint on Route 66) then head through the Mohave National Preserve then Rt.127 into Death Valley. Roughly 238 miles and just over 4 hours (without many, many stops)

First stop, the famous, and semi-abandoned Roy’s Motel in Amboy, California.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Along side classic Route 66 in the mostly abandoned town of Amboy, California is Roy’s Motel. Famous as the set of several movies and one of only a few gas stations in the Mohave desert this once bustling hotel is now the artist installation and owned by Mr. Albert Okura. Mr. Okura, who owns the Juan Pollo restaurant chain has dedicated his life-preserving and restoring Roy’s and the town of Amboy itself. There was MUCH more to explore here but we were simply doing a drive through. We did manage to stop for a bit and take some shots as the force was strong with this one. Here is the perfectly preserved front desk of the Motel.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Inside each of the “rooms’ is a different and bizarre artist installation! Really cool to find this out in the middle of nowhere!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Adjacent to the motel is the old Amboy public school. Unfortunately it was gated off and posted, but I was able to get this cool photo.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Now the Motel may be abandoned-ish, but the gas station and cafe are not. So while the team was making photos, I decided to go in and talk to the “owner”.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

The gist of our conversation went like this. Man behind the counter: “Can I help ya?” Me: “Hi there! I was wondering if you could tell me a little about Roy’s Motel?” Man behind the counter: “I said How can I help ya?” Well after we got past the language barrier he was pretty cool. I told him that I was taking some friends on a photo journey and he thought that was an alright thing. He suggested that I go up the road a bit and ignore the road closed sign and keep going about 2 miles past where we would find the old abandoned Roadrunner Restaurant. I thanked him for the awesome tip and we headed on our way! Sure enough, a couple of miles up the “closed” old Rt. 66 we found the treasure!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Erin and I braved the no trespassing signs that we honestly didn’t see until it was too late. Since we were already in deep we took a few shots.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Taking note of the BIG writing on the wall we beat feet out of there! All along the road for the 2 miles past the closed road sign, 100’s of people have left their mark on the Rt.66 embankment. Since we were all part of this new thing called The Arcanum, we decided to leave our mark as well. So we set out gathering rocks and putting it together!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Of course once we got our big sign finished we had to do a group shot..with a little magic included.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

We left our mark for eternity there in the desert! I am pretty sure you can see that thing from space. Next stop for us would be Jubilee Pass on the way in to Badwater and our first stop in Death Valley, The Devil’s Golf Course.

The Jubilee Pass is nothing great but it is a gorgeous precursor valley to the all-to-famous Death Valley.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

It is March 1st and we are blessed to see wildflowers and Sphingidae: Hyles lineata caterpillars (Will turn into the wonderful White-lined Sphinx Moth.) everywhere in the valley!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

(click photo for download and purchase options)

While this is a gorgeous place and the caterpillars are fun, we have a date with the devil and we cannot seem to get Erin back in the car!

Finally we tackle her and drag her back to the car and make our way to Badwater Basin and our first stop, The Devil’s Golf Course. The Devil’s Golf Course is a large salt an on the floor of Death Valley. It gets its name from the fact that only the devil could play golf here!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

This such a gorgeous and alien place. It’s hard to get a sense of scale from the photo above. The salt formations here are deep, sharp, and treacherous. Shooting out on this pan has its own unique set of challenges.

Turns out she’s pretty happy we dragged her. Photo by Lisa Speakman

Note the shirt… Photo by Lisa Speakman

In fact there actually may have been a couple of aliens floating around..of the Skeksis kind!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Upon getting home and processing a few more close up shots of these formations I realize there might be another reason for all the Devil’s this, Dante’s that stuff around here. Maybe it’s just me but I see some pretty disturbing visions in these two shots.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Now normally I don’t “See dead people”, but those two shots are pretty scary! Time to high-tail it out of this area and head over to Badwater Basin for a look. One last panorama for the road.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Due to weather moving in and time constraints we decide to skip Badwater basin sans a drive-by and head for the Artists Drive. Artist’s Drive rises up to the top of an alluvial fan fed by a deep canyon cut into the Black Mountains. Artist’s Palette is an area on the face of the Black Mountains noted for a variety of rock colors. These colors are caused by the oxidation of different metals (iron salts produce red, pink and yellow, decomposition of tuff-derived mica produces green, and manganese produces purple).

Called the Artist Drive Formation, the rock unit provides evidence for one of the Death Valley area’s most violently explosive volcanic periods. The Miocene-aged formation is made up of cemented gravel, playa deposits, and volcanic debris, perhaps 5,000 feet (1500 m) thick. Chemical weathering and hydro-thermal alteration cause the oxidation and other chemical reactions that produce the variety of colors displayed in the Artist Drive Formation and nearby exposures of the Furnace Creek Formation.

Artist drive is a one-way road through this part of Death Valley National Park. We pick a stop and head out to get some shots. Turns out there is an overlook here but we decide to hike off the path and up the hill to see what is over the ridge. Turns out to be a pretty good choice. Here is what we are greeted with.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Turns out we have big storm coming right for us. The choice here is to stay and capture the storm, risking a wet and soggy walk back to the car (about a half mile) Or shoot like mad and run! We wisely choose the latter. Luckily though we get a brief reprieve.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Here is a panorama I did featuring Ms. Riedel.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

With rain close by now we pack it up and head back to the car to race ahead of the storm. 3 stops left to go and the day is running short and the weather even shorter. Next stop, just up the road on Artist Drive known as Artist’s Palette. A nice overlook with some brilliantly colored rock formations as a backdrop.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Here is another shot of Ms. Riedel and a little better idea of the color.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

As you can see the light is getting quite even which means the storm is rolling in on us quickly. Looking forward to the next stop as it has a huge tie in for me. One last panorama from the phone to show the scope of the Artist’s Palette.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Warning Star Wars Geekery Dead Ahead

So it’s a well-known fact that some of the original Star Wars movie was shot here in Death Valley. Particularly the scenes where Luke Skywalker, C3P0, R2D2, and Obi-Wan Kenobi encounter the Sand People. Those particular scenes were shot in a small part of the park known as 20 Mule Team Road. The road is a well graded yet dirt road through a secluded little canyon. Unfortunately it is all the way on the other side of the park. Time and light are running out so we beat feet to our next destination. Just about to reach the entrance road we are confronted with a show stopper.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Moments after this shot the skies open up and our trip to 20 Mule Team is for the lack of a better word, a “wash”. We have one final chance to make one last destination here in the park so we decide that it will be Dante’s View for sunset. Off we head, through the rain for a 5,476ft road to the peak. Keep in mind we are in Death Valley, the hottest place on Earth with an average yearly rainfall of just 2.36 inches! After about 5 minutes on the road to Dante’s View, it starts SNOWING! Yes, SNOWING in Death Valley. It is thanks to this final straw that I earn the moniker of “The Snow Miser” on this trip. In all my life I never figured that I would see snow on my first visit to the hottest place on Earth!

Regardless of the 20°F temperatures, wind, and SNOW, we decide we have come this far, no need to stop now. We grab our gear and head out on the trail. What an unbelievably gorgeous view!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

That’s not rain in the distance, I can guarantee you. The snow did let up quickly and there was no accumulation. Nothing really but a bizarre strange feeling we were truly blessed on this visit with some amazing skies and weather as backdrops for our photos.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Dante’s View is probably one of the most well-known spots in Death Valley. I had done quite a bit of pre-viewing on the internet before visiting. I kind of knew what was in store, minus the snow. One of things that I did not know was that this was a famous shot in the movie Star Wars. There is a scene where Obi-Wan and Luke are overlooking the city of Mos Eisley and this is that exact spot!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

At the time of the visit, I had some feeling like I had been here before, but thought it was just my seeing it on the internet. Now I feel it was more because of the movie and the impact that it has had on my life. To give you an idea of what I mean, I was just 14 years old when the original Star Wars – A New Hope was released. I remember coming out of the movie theater stunned. I had never seen anything like it. And the message of the movie was so clear, whatever you believe you can do, you can! I have carried this philosophy with me my entire life. I believe it is why learning new things comes very easy to me. I just plainly have never believed there isn’t anything I can’t do. Fast forward 36 years to July of 2014 and I get an email from one of my Photography idols, Trey Ratcliff to join him on a new project known as The Arcanum. The Arcanum is a sort of magical academy of the arts. Think Hogwarts, but for Artists. Trey got the inspiration for The Arcanum from the book by Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind. In the book the main characters are based around a magical academy known as The Arcanum which is based on the ancient practice of Master and Apprentice learning. Now this may sound far-fetched but Star Wars is also based on this same premise. I can only wonder if Patrick Rothfuss was somehow inspired by Star Wars. For me, it is an incredible connection between myself and the three. Wrapping in to all of this is that my apprentice and now good friend Caleb from this very trip worked on the original movie! How cool is that? And his first four SLR photos were from the set! After this trip he presented me with the shots during a community challenge at The Arcanum. I was so inspired that I set out to compose his original black and white photos into some NASA color backdrops. Caleb is now releasing those collaborative shots as super limited editions. You can check those out at this link: https://goo.gl/SeKwtUWhat a long strange trip it has been (so far)! Time to head off the mountain and off to Nevada for the nights stay before visiting our final two destinations for this journey. Well, maybe one more big shot to warm you up a bit for the journey ahead.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Pahrump, Nevada to Techatticup, Nevada

Through some extra poking and prodding, Lisa and Steve would be making this trip with Murray, Erin, and I to a ghost town in Southern Nevada. I think they are both glad they did.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

About 90 miles south of Vegas in the middle of the desert is a small “ghost town” of Techatticup also known as the Eldorado Canyon Gold Mine. Established in the 1800’s and the site of numerous wild west hijinks, Husband and wife, Tony and Bobbie purchased the property and opened it to the public. Since then, many music videos, photo shoots and the movie “3000 miles to Graceland” have been shot there. I first visited in 2012, then in 2013 and then again during this trip in 2015. Being that the site is loaded with amazing vehicles, buildings, and EVERYTHING. I thought this would be a great place to visit with Steve, especially on his Birthday!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Steve, like myself is quite the nostalgic gear head. As you can see from some of these shots it was like hog heaven for him. While the gang was out shooting, I was in the general store trying to get a moment with Bobbie so that I could see her, say “hello” and sign a print of mine that she like and had printed and sent to her prior to our visit. In 2013 I had done a big story on the site along with a feature in Nevada Magazine and let me tell you, I had never seen this place so busy. I waited roughly 45 mins to get my fleeting moment. They were swamped with customers. Here’s Bobbie with her print.

While it was a pain to wait, it was also amazing to see them this busy in March. I am so happy for them! If you are ever near Vegas, make sure you grab your camera and take this place in! To see more, check out my story here: http://goo.gl/GTD70D

Like I had mentioned in part II of this series. This trip was all about the long exposure for me. This place was prime territory for that. AND, we had great cloud cover again!

That about winds the day and we still have one matter of business to take care of.

Time to say farewell to our traveling buddies Steve and Lisa. The pack up and head out and we are just behind. Honestly, Eldorado feels like my second home. As we are cresting the hill we wave goodbye to Lisa and Steve as they speed ahead of us, leaving us in the dust. I take one last look out the rear view mirror and just about flip out. I crank the wheel and drive into the ditch, yelling at Murray and Erin to get out of the car quick! They must have thought I sat on a rattlesnake. Breaking behind us is one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever witnessed, or so I thought.

(click photo for download and purchase options)

We scramble down the hill, snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, and cholla cacti be damned! By the time I get my camera set-up the beautiful light that I saw in my rear view and rainbow are fading..have I just missed the most amazing shot ever? NO! Because just 2 minutes later the rainbow and light both come back with a vengeance!

(click photo for download and purchase options)

Dancing and high fives all around! I just wished Lisa and Steve would have turned around. They say, “Never Look Back” but this time, I am glad I did. Lisa and Steve are headed back to California and Murray, Erin, and I are off to Flagstaff and an early morning at the south rim of The Grand Canyon!! Can this trip get any better?

Find out in the final installment, Joshua Tree Pilgrimage Part IV. Coming right up!

Make sure to check out everyone’s blogs for their photos and stories from the trip: